264 THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-MASTERY
era, but as was stated earlier, the philosophy they convey has made more millionaires
than any other philosophy. Those stories inspired people to succeed during the Great
Depression, and through the Second World War, and they were the touchstone for
many who made America boom during the '50s and the '60s. It was those same
stories and the philosophy behind them that made some of the most successful
entrepreneurs of the baby boom generation, and for those who look past the words
and learn the lessons, it will be the making of the new-millennium millionaires.MASTER THE FEAR OF POVERTYTo whip the fear of poverty one must take two very definite steps if
one is in debt. First, quit the habit of buying on credit, and follow this
by gradually paying off the debts that you have already incurred.
Being free from the worry of indebtedness, you are ready to revamp
the habits of your mind and redirect your course toward prosperity.
Adopt, as a part of your Definite Chief Aim, the habit of saving a reg-
ular portion of your income, even if it is no more than a penny a day.
Very soon this habit will begin to take hold of your mind and you will
actually get joy out of saving.
Any habit may be discontinued by building in its place some other
and more desirable habit. The spending habit must be replaced by the
saving habit by all who wish to attain financial independence.
Merely to discontinue an undesirable habit is not enough, as such
habits have a tendency to reappear unless the place they had occupied
in the mind is filled by some other habit of a different nature.
The discontinuance of a habit leaves a hole in the mind, and this
hole must be fIlled with some other form of habit or the old one will
return and claim its place.
Throughout this course many psychological formulas, which you
are requested to memorize and practice, have been described. You will
find such a formula in Lesson Three, the object of which is to develop
Self-Confidence.