IMAGINATION 393Imagination, you have simply brought together two principles, both of
which were in existence since the beginning of time.
No one who knew him intimately ever accredited Andrew Carnegie
with unusual ability, or with the power of genius, except in one respect,
and that was his ability to select men who could and would cooperate,
in a spirit of harmony, in carrying out his wishes. But what additional
ability did he need in the accumulation of his millions of dollars?
COMMENTARY
Throughout this course, your imagination should prompt you to make connections
between principles and apply them in ways that are unique to your situation.
Begin with your definite chief aim. Look at the written statement you have
made of it. Is there some way that you might now modify that statement to make
it clearer, more accurate, or closer to what you truly want?
Sometimes you will discover that you have misplaced the emphasis in what
you have set out to do. This is not uncommon, and hardly cause for despair or
frustration. Some of the greatest successes have come when people have looked
at their goals and seen that they were not right for their situation.Anyone who understands the principle of organized iffort as Carnegie
understood it, and knows enough about human nature to be able to
select just those types that are needed in the performance of a given
task, could duplicate all that Carnegie accomplished.
Carnegie was a leader of Imagination. He first created a difinite purpose
and then surrounded himself with people who had the training and the
vision and the capacity necessary for the transformation of that purpose
into reality. He did not always create his own plans for the attainment of
his difinite purpose. Carnegie made it his business to know what he wanted,
then found others who could create plans through which to procure it.
And that was not only Imagination, it was genius of the highest order.
But it should be made clear that individuals of Mr. Carnegie's type