Latest / Heart of the New Thought / 022 - The Object of Life

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022 - The Object of Life · Heart of the New Thought

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  Speaker 1: Section twenty one of the Heart of the New Thought
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  Speaker 1: by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. This LibriVox recording is in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. The object of life? What do you believe
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  Speaker 1: to be the object of your life? To be happy
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  Speaker 1: and successful? Perhaps you are thinking, even if you do
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  Speaker 1: not answer in those words, that is the idea of
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  Speaker 1: the many. Meanwhile, others, who have been educated in the
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  Speaker 1: melancholy faith of their ancestors, believe the object of this
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  Speaker 1: life is to be miserable, poor, and full of sorrow,
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  Speaker 1: that they may wear a crown of glory hereafter. But
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  Speaker 1: the clear thinker and careful observer must realize that there
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  Speaker 1: is one and only one main object in life, the
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  Speaker 1: building of character. He who sets out in early youth
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  Speaker 1: with that ambition and purpose and keeps to it will
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  Speaker 1: not only attain his object, but he will too attain
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  Speaker 1: happiness and true success, For there is no such thing
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  Speaker 1: as failure for the man or woman of character. We
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  Speaker 1: often apply the two words character and success unworthily. We
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  Speaker 1: speak of a man of much character when he is
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  Speaker 1: merely self assertive and stubborn, and we call a man
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  Speaker 1: successful who has accumulated a fortune or achieved fame, and
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  Speaker 1: a position by doubtful methods. Then what is character and
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  Speaker 1: what is success. Character is the result of the cultivation
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  Speaker 1: of the highest and noblest qualities in human nature and
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  Speaker 1: putting those qualities to practical use. Success is the conquest
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  Speaker 1: of the lower and baser self and the ability to
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  Speaker 1: be useful to one's fellow men. There are men of brain,
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  Speaker 1: wealth and position who are failures. And there are men
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  Speaker 1: of limited abilities and in humble places who are yet successful,
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  Speaker 1: inasmuch as they make the utmost of themselves and their opportunities.
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  Speaker 1: It makes no difference how lowly your sphere in life
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  Speaker 1: may be, and no matter how limited your environment, you
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  Speaker 1: can build your character if you will. You need no
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  Speaker 1: outlay of money, no assistance from those in power, no influence.
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  Speaker 1: Character building must be done alone and by yourself. The
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  Speaker 1: ground must be lengthed of debris, and the structure must
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  Speaker 1: be erected stone by stone. It is dull, slow, hard work,
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  Speaker 1: especially the preparation. All preparation is drudgery. When this little
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  Speaker 1: whirling globe of ours began to cool in space, think
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  Speaker 1: what a task lay before it. Think of the mass
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  Speaker 1: of chaos which has to slowly shape itself into mighty
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  Speaker 1: green glad and snow capped mountains, fertile vales and noble forests.
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  Speaker 1: Each one of us is a little world, whirling alone
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  Speaker 1: on an individual orbit. But the divine power is within
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  Speaker 1: us to grow into symmetry, beauty, and perfection if we
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  Speaker 1: only realize it, and the happiness of the work once
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  Speaker 1: we begin it is beyond the power of description. There
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  Speaker 1: is no other satisfaction can compare with that of looking
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  Speaker 1: back across the years and finding that you have grown
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  Speaker 1: in self control, in charity of judgment, in a sense
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  Speaker 1: of justice, in generosity, and in unselfishness. If you are
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  Speaker 1: conscious of this growth, let no lack of material success
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  Speaker 1: for one moment disturb you. That will come enough for
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  Speaker 1: your need in time. The man of symmetrically developed character
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  Speaker 1: is never a pauper. He is never dependent for more
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  Speaker 1: than a temporary period. To possess character is to be useful,
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  Speaker 1: and to be useful is to be independent. And to
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  Speaker 1: be useful and independent is to be happy, even in
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  Speaker 1: the midst of sorrow, For sorrow is not necessarily unhappiness.
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  Speaker 1: The man who has made the development of a noble
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  Speaker 1: and harmonious character the business of his life accepts his
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  Speaker 1: sorrows as means of greater growth, and finds in them
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  Speaker 1: an exaltation of a spirit which is closely allied to happiness.
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  Speaker 1: To such a nature, absolute wretchedness would only be possible
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  Speaker 1: through the loss of self respect, the lowering of an ideal,
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  Speaker 1: or the failure of a principle. Would you be happy
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  Speaker 1: and successful, then set yourself to build character, seek to
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  Speaker 1: be worthy of your own highest commendation. End of Section
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  Speaker 1: twenty one