Master Yourself

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Summary:  I was researching old books prior to 1923 because I knew the copyright for the books had expired and they were in the Public Domain.  I did a search on the Library of Congress for “How to” because I thought “How to” books never go out of style.  I came up with quite an extensive list.  Many books contained information that wasn’t useful any more to the average person.  Example: “How to tell the age of a Horse”.  However, I found some rare gems!  This self help book below, published in 1915, applies to human nature, and that has not changed in the past 105 years.

Individual Mastery

This is the book I discovered on the Library of Congress website entitled, “Individual Mastery: How to make the Most of Yourself” by Henry Sherin.

 

There are 12 chapters in the book, which I organized into 4 categories of Self-Help starting from the inner core of our being out to the external:

• Soul and Divine
• Mind – Think Different, Perception, Memory, Imagination
• Spirit – The Will, Feelings, Anticipation & Self-Confidence, Self-Esteem & Ambition
• Body – Health Affirms, Face Reveals

I think this graphic represents the authors points well:

Some quotes from the book that I think you’ll like

“Our happiness, strength, and ability to rise above the trials, troubles, and unhealthy conditions that surround us depend on our being in harmony with the Divine.” (p. 14)

“Your success in any enterprise will generally depend upon the amount of application and perspiration you give to it.” (p. 21)

“The weakness of the modern man is that he will not think, or allow time for thought. With the rush of business, the reading of the daily papers, and his efforts to secure some little time for amusement, he believes there is no time for thought, no time to fix the mind upon any special subject for even an hour.” (p. 25)

“The most useful in this world are those who can look into the future and see the things that are able to emancipate the man, elevate the woman, and lift humanity into light, happiness and contentment.” (p. 39-40)

“If you would develop your mental powers and be a real personality, avoid doing always as others do. You are an individual and should always assert yourself in every kind of society or business in which you are interested.” (p. 61)

“All legitimate work is honorable, and the man who is starving or in want, when he could get honorable employment at reasonable wages which he refuses because he dislikes the work, deserves little sympathy and no gratuities.” (p. 64-65)

“The majority of men and women who have shone as stars in business and professions have had to struggle upward.” (p. 78)

“Many a man makes a great mistake at fifty or sixty years of age, in deciding that he is an old man and should cease to work and take an interest in the affairs of life. Just at the time when his experience is an asset to the world, he sells out his interests or hands them over to others and retires from business.  Yes, we might be boys at fifty, sixty, or seventy years of age, if we would think so, and live as we should, in the spirit of youth, taking an interest in the growth and development of the life that surrounds us.” (p. 83)

“It is a great mistake for a man to think that because he failed in business and lost all his money, that he is ruined completely and permanently. No man is ruined completely who is in possession of a sound mind, and if he has, in addition to a sound mind, a healthy body, he is rich in resources that a will can make a great success of.” (p. 85)

“If you will hitch your abilities to a will electrified by a divine connection, nothing on earth can keep you down.” (p. 90)

FREE Audio Book

In addition, since I love audio books, I have recorded (12) mp3 files, one for each chapter, that you can listen to below.  Or, download as a zip file, extract and listen to on your own device.  The total length is approximately 80 minutes.  Let me know what you think!

Audio Book:

• Audio Book Zip File (12 chapters): Individual Mastery
• PDF: Individual Mastery – How to make the Most of Yourself

 

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