Why You Are "The Master of Your Fate

When Henley wrote the prophetic lines, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul," he should have informed us that we are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls, because we have the power to control our thoughts.

He should have told us that our brains become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds, and, by means with which no man is familiar, these "magnets" attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.

He should have told us that before we can accumulate riches in great abundance, that we must magnetize our minds with intense desire for riches, that we must become "money conscious" until the desire for money drives us to create definite plans for acquiring it.

But, being a poet, and not a philosopher, Henley contented himself by stating a great truth in poetic form, leaving those who followed him to interpret the philosophical meaning of his lines.

Little by little, the truth has unfolded itself, until it now appears certain that the principles described in Napoleon's book hold the secret of mastery over our economic fate.

Let's look at the story of Napoleon's listener Jennings Randolph in his speech in a college commencement address. In his address he emphasized the principle described in his book with so much intensity that one of the members of the graduating class definitely appropriated it, and made it part of his own philosophy. The young man became a congressman and an important factor in Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. He wrote him a letter in which he so clearly stated his opinion of the principle outlined in the book that he had chosen to publish the letter as an introduction to one of the chapters. 

It gives you an idea of the rewards to come.

My dear Napoleon,

My service as a member of Congress having given me an insight into the problems of men and women, I am writing to offer a suggestion which may become helpful to thousands of worthy people.

In 1922, you delivered the commencement address at Salem College, when I was a member of the graduating class. In that address, you planted in my mind an idea which has been responsible for the opportunity I now have to serve the people of my state, and will be responsible, in a very large measure, for whatever success I may have in the future.

I recall, as though it were yesterday, the marvelous description you gave of the method by which Henry Ford, with but little schooling, without a dollar, with no influential friends, rose to great heights. I made up my mind then, even before you had finished your speech, that I would make a place for myself, no matter how many difficulties I had to surmount.

Thousands of young people will finish their schooling this year, and within the next few years. Every one of them will be seeking just such a message of practical encouragement as the one I received from you. They will want to know where to turn, what to do, to get started in life. You can tell them, because you have helped to solve the problems of so many, many people.

There are thousands of people in America today who would like to know how they can convert ideas into money, people who must start at scratch, without finances, and recoup their losses. If anyone can help them, you can.

If you publish the book, I would like to own the first copy that comes from the press, personally autographed by you.

With best wishes, believe me.

Cordially yours,

Jennings Randolph 

Thirty-five years after he made that speech, it was his pleasure to return to Salem College in 1957 and deliver the bacalaureate sermon. At that time, he received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Salem College.

Since that time in 1922, he watched Jennings Randolph rise to become one of the nation's leading airlines executives, a great inspirational speaker and United States Senator from West Virginia.