CONCENTRATION 767We are sowing seed in our minds every second, but we are doing
it more or less unconsciously. We must learn to do it following a care-
fully prepared plan, according to a well laid-out design. Haphazardly
sown seed in the human mind brings back a haphazard crop. There
is no escape from this result.
History is full of notable cases of those who have been trans-
formed from law-abiding, peaceful, constructive citizens to vicious
criminals. We also have thousands of cases wherein criminals have
been transformed into constructive, law-abiding citizens. In everyone
of these cases the transformation of the human being took place
in the mind of the person. Each created in their own mind, for one
reason or another, a picture of what they desired and then proceeded
to transform that picture into reality.
If a picture of any environment, condition, or thing is envisioned
in the human mind, and if the mind is focused or concentrated on
that picture long enough and persistently enough and backed up with
a strong desire for the thing pictured, it is but a short step from the
picture to the realization of it in physical or mental form.
The world war brought out many startling tendencies of the
human mind which corroborate the work that psychologists have been
doing in their research into the workings of the mind. The following
account of a rough, unschooled, undisciplined young mountain man
is an excellent case in point.
COMMENTARY
By including the following story of World War I hero Alvin York, as written by
George W Dixon, Napoleon Hill's intent was not just to tell the story of a hero
but also to illustrate his point that given a powerful enough stimulus, an indi-
vidual can change his or her mind and thereby change his or her life.
In the case of Alvin York, he went through two profound changes: the first
self-directed, and the second inspired by others whom he respected. Though the