Part 18 · The Seed and the Fruit · points 26–32 of 33 in this Part

The loop of attention and interest

Begin by paying attention. Interest follows — and then it compounds.

7 numbered points · 2 study questions · 2 min read

The one line to keep

Begin by paying attention. Interest follows — and then it compounds.

Thinkers, financiers, inventors and statesmen all contribute the same thing: the power of their thought. Haanel then gives the mechanism that anyone can use — power depends on consciousness of power; unless you use it you lose it. Use depends on attention; attention determines your capacity for knowledge, which is another name for power. Attention is the mark of genius, and the way in is interest: pay attention, and interest arrives; interest brings more attention; the loop compounds by itself.

Why this matters to you

You do not need motivation to start. You need fifteen minutes of attention — the motivation arrives afterwards, every time.

Study questions for this sublevel

Haanel put a review question at the end of every part. Answer out loud first — the recall is what moves it into memory.

179. What is it that we give?

Thought.

180. What do we receive?

Thought, which is substance in equilibrium and which is constantly being differentiated in form by what we think.

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Haanel's own words — points 26–32

Quoted exactly from The Master Key System (1912, public domain). The translation above is ours; this is his.

What do the great financiers of Wall Street, the captains of industry, the statesmen, the great attorneys, the inventors, the physicians, the authors – what do each of these contribute to the sum of human happiness but the power of their thought?

Thought is the energy by which the Law of Attraction is brought into operation, which eventually manifests in abundance.

The Universal Mind is static Mind or Substance in equilibrium. It is differentiated into form by our power to think. Thought is the dynamic phase of mind.

Power depends upon consciousness of power; unless we use it, we shall lose it, and unless we are conscious of it, we cannot use it.

The use of this power depends upon attention; the degree of attention determines our capacity for the acquisition of knowledge, which is another name for power.

Attention has been held to be the distinguishing mark of genius. The cultivation of attention depends upon practice.

The incentive of attention is interest; the greater the interest, the greater the attention; the greater the attention, the greater the interest, action and reaction. Begin by paying attention; before long you will have aroused interest; this interest will attract more attention, and this attention will produce more interest, and so on. This practice will enable you to cultivate the power of attention.

Put it to work

This week's exercise

Concentrate on Your Power to Create (Part Eighteen)

Usual seat. Relax.

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Sit with it

Guided stillness timer

The sit is the whole foundation of the course: still body, watched breath, no phone. Pick five minutes if fifteen feels like a hill.

Open the timer

Keep going

1A new consciousness is being bornThe world's thinking is changing, and you can change yours with it.2One mind, individualised in youYou are the means by which the universal becomes particular.3The link, and the need for apparatusThought is the link. The apparatus is you, prepared.4Growth happens by attractionTo grow you must attract what you need — starting with thoughts of abundance.5The loop of attention and interestBegin by paying attention. Interest follows — and then it compounds.6This week: concentrate on your power to createLook for the logical basis of your own faith.

Part 18 · The Seed and the Fruit

You cannot reap a crop you never sowed

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