PUPIL: These two steps are most helpful to me. But before taking other steps may I ask just what pitfalls I should look out for most when first I start on the road?

MASTER: Here are two of the most common snares, I think:

(1) Never yet has success come, and never shall it come, to any person who simply wishes for it. Mere wishes are idle and utterly impotent unless the wish is great enough to inspire one to immediate action. Yes, action, not wishes, is the big thing.

(2) Keeping your mind centered on the big success that you "are going to be" will never bring it to pass. You must know yourself successful now.

So long as one looks upon success as a future acquirement just so long will success be postponed, just so long will its attainment always remain future. From the very start one must learn to back up the thought with the feeling, the absolute conviction, that I AM success now!

PUPIL: These are splendid, too. Now I am ready for another step forward.

MASTER: Since you have now firmly resolved to make a business of acquiring true success in accordance with Life's immutable Laws, you must throw your whole energy into making your mind a center for positive thoughts only, for constructive thoughts only. You are deliberately careful of the words you use. You are deliberately careful of your mental reaction to the words you may hear.

For instance, if you hear people talking about a tornado you should not let your thoughts dwell upon destruction but rather upon tremendous power positively used. If you hear people talking about disease, you should inwardly know that while disease is a natural result of broken natural laws it is not necessarily evil, and that in Life as Life all is good and perfect.

In a word it will be necessary for you to avoid all detours, even though they may appear easy and short.