In the 1930s and 40s while World War II was brewing in Europe there were many in the USA who were sounding loud alarms. The parallels with 2021 are disturbingly similar. Let’s stay alert and be proactive before it is too late.

Napoleon Hill, the author of the most successful and famous “Success Book” of all time, Think and Grow Rich, was the son of a Primitive Baptist church founder who grew up in the moonshine region of Virginia’s western mountains. He became a protege’ of Andrew Carnegie and earned millions as a speaker, teacher, author and journalist. His students, to this day, include the most successful and influential people in the world.

From the book Napoleon Hill’s Greatest Speeches:

“Oftentimes Hill’s speeches were reprinted in newspapers and magazines. The following speech by Hill appeared around 1940 in print in Plain Talk. Each issue was about sixty pages long and sold for twenty-five cents. The purpose of the magazine was to alert readers of the dangers of Communism. It was a bold publication to say the least, covering such topics as the murder of the Jewish Polish prisoners.”

“The range of topics in Plain Talk in the 1940s was broad, covering such subjects as Palestine, China, Soviet spies in the US government, Korea and much more.” (Sounds like current news reports for 2021.)

Other contributors were Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone With The Wind), Sir Bertrand Russell, Ayn Rand (author of Atlas Shrugged), and Clare Boothe Luce. This article on Faith by Napoleon Hill was found during a renovation behind the fireplace mantel in a Wise, Virginia house in the area where he grew up.

FAITH

“Faith permits one to approach within communicating distance of Infinite Intelligence (or God, if you prefer that name). Fear holds one at arm’s length and makes communication impossible.

Faith creates an Abraham Lincoln; fear develops an Al Capone.

Faith evolves a great leader; fear creates a cringing follower.

Faith makes men honorable at trade; fear makes men dishonest and stealthy-minded.

Faith causes one to look for and to find the best there is in men; fear discovers only their shortcomings and deficiencies. 

Faith unmistakably identifies itself through the look in one’s eyes, the expression on one’s face, the tone of one’s voice, and the way one walks; fear identifies itself through the same avenues.

Faith attracts only that which is helpful and constructive; fear attracts only that which is destructive.

Right works through Faith; wrong works through fear.

Anything that causes one to be afraid should have close examination. 

Both faith and fear have a tendency to clothe themselves in physical realities, through the most practical and natural media available.

Faith constructs; fear tears down. The order is never reversed!

Faith and Fear never fraternize. Both cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must, and always does, dominate.

Faith can lift an individual to the great heights of achievement in any calling; fear can and does make achievement impossible in any calling.

Fear ushered in the worst panic the world has ever known; faith will usher it out again.

Faith is nature’s alchemy with which she mixes and blends the spiritual with the physical and mental forces.

Fear will no more mix with spiritual force than will oil with water.

Faith is every man’s privilege. When exercised, it removes most of the real and all of the imagined limitations with which man binds himself in his own mind.

The fact that most men of science are free from all forms of fear, while those who know but little or nothing of science and natural laws are steeped in it, is most significant.”

The significance of this message is profound. Remember FDR’s famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is Fear itself”? Napoleon Hill wrote that line while advising President Roosevelt. And it is still true!

FEAR is the enemy. 

Our adversaries understand that. Freedom’s opponents in the Media, White House, Congress, State Houses, City Councils and throughout our Education and Labor Unions love fear because it makes people cooperate. The entire Covid 19 shut down was about testing the limits of fear and compliance. They proved that you could take a disease that ranks low on the risk scale and blow up the fears of it all out of proportion, and the people would accept some of the most draconian oppression imaginable. You could use fear to keep people hiding in their homes, afraid to contact even family members. You could make them shut down their businesses and risk or even endure bankruptcy.

You could change an entire society from openness to apprehension by convincing them that any human was a life threatening disease carrier. Masks on everyone’s faces, handshakes discontinued, public gatherings cancelled. Churches sitting empty. Businesses threatened with huge fines if they allowed people to enter without a mask. Never mind that masks had been proven not to work on Covid, everyone fell in line. Fear persists long after the official medical authorities have given the all clear. And those who aren’t afraid are viewed as if they were traitors and carriers.

Fear is the goal of the dark forces.

At first we feared the disease, then we feared each other, then we feared government fines or lawsuits. All of these were Fears most of all. Fear replaces faith. 

While people are afraid that’s when you pass new laws, create new regulations, form new policies…so that things don’t return to “normal” and threaten your newly acquired power over others. We hear quotes like, “Be afraid, be very afraid”, used as a form of humor. They say, “Better to be safe than sorry.” There is no permanent safety, except in self-reliance. All of the news feeds your fears. “If it bleeds, it leads” in the news. Disasters, threats and scary news outsells kittens and puppies on video.

But when others are playing with fear, they are testing our power to live in freedom and faith. When people talk about fear, change the energy. Talk about hope, faith, optimism. Look toward the light, not the dark. When they talk about safety, you can talk about reason and logic and truth. Don’t buy their weakness, even if it does feel safe.

Following is a poem I wrote to explain Optimism to a pessimistic friend. You are welcome to share it.

Think-Feel-Do “Contagious Optimism Poem”

© Jim Cathcart 9-24-2014

Think, Feel, Do

When you think you can, and when you think you can’t…you’re right

It’s a matter of mind not just a matter of might

To see it through your point of view is key

And you don’t need to think the same as me

It seems completely plausible to say something’s impossible

When you don’t see how … you just assume – You Can’t

But pessimism leads to less

The doubters don’t clean up the mess

It takes no talent to tear others apart

The critic may be smart but has no heart.

Or you can choose to be among the Brave

The one who stands and faces every wave,

with certainly that peace and joy are near

if you only learn to look beyond your fear

Think, Feel, Do

If you think you could, you might

When you think you can, you’re right

If you’re pretty sure that somehow there’s a way

Then you’ll stay the course until you find

the success you hoped for in your mind

Hope sustains, Doubt refrains, Dreams appear when we avoid the fear

What you think defines the way that you’ll feel

If you doubt and criticize you’ll make it real

But with Optimism you can make it so (Yes you can!)

You’ll gain the strength to still get up and go

How you think is what you do

What you see can make things new

When you think you can or think you can’t your right

It’s a matter of mind not just a matter of might

See what you want, feel the positive flow, think of the best

And Make It So!

Think, Feel, Do.

Here’s the audio Recording of this poem delivered by Jason Cathcart, grandson of Jim Cathcart the author.

 

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