CHAPTER SUMMARY
Lesson 13 — Co-operation
Co-Operation is the beginning of all organized effort, It exists in two forms:
First, the Co-Operation between people who group themselves or form alliances to attain a given end, under the principles known as the Law of the Master Mind.
Second, the Co-Operation between the conscious and the subconscious minds, which forms a reasonable hypothesis of man’s ability to contact, communicate, and draw upon infinite intelligence.
How power is developed through co-operation
Organization and coordination of the mind develop our power. The development of personal power is but the first step to be taken in the development of the potential power that is available through the medium of allied effort, or co-operation, which may be called group power.
It is a well-known fact that all men who have amassed large fortunes have been known as able “organizers”. By this, I mean that they possessed the ability to enlist the co-operative efforts of others who supplied talent and ability which they, themselves, did not possess.
Take, as an example, any business or profession and you will observe, that it is limited only by lack of application of organized and co-operative effort. For illustration purposes, Consider Google.
If Microsoft consisted only of its Windows software it would’ve been greatly handicapped against the broader market, even though it might’ve had 1000s of programmers who were software experts. The opportunities of the internet require a greater variety of talent, whose specialization complements the talent of other team members, whilst staying unique to ensure success on a large scale.
A well-organized company such as Microsoft includes talent in a variety of fields such as Global Sales, Marketing, Operations, Corporate Strategy, Cloud services, Human Resources, Finance, Business Development, Applications Services, Windows Devices, Technology, Research and Legal.
In developing such a company, the man who understood the principles of organized, co-operative effort, would surround himself with talent that was specialized in every branch of building a great company.
Success in life cannot be attained except through peaceful, harmonious and co-operative effort. Nor can success be attained single-handedly or independently. Even though a man lives as a hermit in the wilderness, far from all signs of civilization, he is, nevertheless, dependent upon forces outside of himself for an existence. The more he becomes a part of civilization the more dependent upon co-operative effort he becomes.
Fortunes that are acquired through co-operative effort inflict no scars upon the hearts of their owners, which is more than can be said of fortunes that are acquired through conflict and competitive methods that border on extortion.
The accumulation of material wealth, whether the object is that of bare existence or luxury, consumes most of the time that we put into this earthly struggle. If we cannot change this materialistic tendency of human nature, we can, at least, change the method of pursuing it by adopting co-operation as the basis of the pursuit.
Doing things, not just saying them
Let us keep in mind the fact that all success is based upon power, and power grows out of knowledge, that has been organized and expressed in terms of ACTION. The world pays for but one kind of knowledge, and that is the kind which is expressed in terms of constructive service.
Every office, and every shop, and every bank, and every store, and every other place of employment has its outstanding victims of procrastination because they have not developed the habit of expressing themselves in action.
If you talk to these unfortunate people, you will observe that they have built up a false philosophy somewhat of this nature:
“I am doing all I am paid to do, and I am getting by”
and they are “getting by” — but that is all they are getting. Many of them long for the world to give them a chance. But of course, the world wouldn’t give them a chance. It never gives anyone a chance. A man who wants a chance may create it through action.
In the lesson on imagination, you learned how to recombine old ideas into new plans, but no matter how practical your plans maybe they will be useless if they are not expressed in action.
Some men dream, but do nothing more. Others take the visions of the dreamers and translate them into stone, and marble, and music, and good books, and railroads, and steamships. There are still others who both dream and transform these dreams into reality. They are the visionaries and Founders.
Laziness is nothing but the influence of an inactive mind on the cells of the body. If you doubt this, next time you’re feeling drowsy after a night’s sleep take a cold shower and see how quickly you’re body becomes active and ready with energy. Another great way is to turn your mind toward some game of which you are fond and notice how quickly the cells of your body will respond to your enthusiasm and your lazy feeling will disappear.
Right thoughts lead to right actions
There is another enemy which you must conquer before you can become a person of action, and that is the worry habit. Worry, and envy, and jealousy, and hatred, and doubt, and fear are all states of mind which are fatal to action.
In the second lesson, your Definite chief aim in life should be supported by a burning desire for its realization. You can have no burning desire for achievement when you are in a negative state of mind, no matter what the cause of that state of mind may be.
To keep myself in a positive frame of mind I have discovered a very effective “method” for myself. That is being a hearty laugh. When I feel “out of sorts” or inclined to argue with somebody over something that is not worthy of discussion, I know that I need my “method”, and I proceed to get away to a place where I will disturb no one and have a good hearty laugh. If I can find nothing really funny about which to laugh I simply have a forced laugh. The effect is the same in both cases.
Five minutes of this sort of mental and physical exercise will stimulate action that is free from negative tendencies.
You cannot think fear and act courageously. You cannot think hatred and act in a kindly manner toward those with whom you associate. The dominating thoughts of your mind — meaning by this, the strongest and deepest and most frequent of your thoughts influence the physical action of your body.
A man who is afraid runs away because his legs carry him, and they carry him because the fear thought in his mind instructed them to do so, even though the instructions were given unconsciously.
The Man of Action
In speaking of men of action, either or both of two types may be referred to. One is the care-taker type and the other is the promoter or salesman type. Both of these types are essential in modern Business, Industry and Finance. One is known as a “dynamo” while the other is often referred to as a “balance wheel.”
The “balance wheel” who does nothing but compile facts and figures and statistics is just as much a man of action as the man who goes upon the platform and sells an idea to a thousand people by the sheer power of his active personality. To determine whether a man is a man of action or not it is necessary to analyze both his mental and his physical habits.
You need to understand that What the world pays you for is what you do or what you can get others to do.
A man who can induce others to co-operate and do effective team-work, or inspire others so that they become more active, is no less a man of action than the man who renders effective service in a more direct manner.
Give the man the sort of work that harmonizes with his nature and the best there is in him will exert itself. One of the outstanding tragedies of the world is the fact that most people never engage in the work for which they are best fitted by nature.
How to become Active
- Form the habit of doing each day the distasteful tasks first. This procedure will be difficult at first, but after you have formed the habit you will take pride in pitching into the hardest and most undesirable part of your work first.
- Place this sign in front of you where you can see it in your daily work, and put a copy in your bedroom, where it will greet you as you retire and when you arise: “Do not tell them what you can do; show them!”
- Repeat the following words, aloud twelve-times each night just before you go to sleep: “Tomorrow I will do everything that should be done when it should be done, and as it should be done. I will perform the most difficult tasks first because this will destroy the habit of procrastination and develop the habit of action in its place.”
- Carry out these instructions with faith in their soundness and with belief that they will develop action, in body and mind, sufficient to enable you to realize your definite chief aim.
Regardless of who you are, or what your definite chief aim maybe, if you plan to attain the object of your chief aim through the co-operative efforts of others, you must first set up in the minds of those whose co-operation you seek a motive strong enough to ensure their full, undivided, unselfish co-operation, for you will then be placing the foundation of your plans, the power of the Law of the Master Mind.
