WHAT IS WILL-POWER? ~ 
along, barely keeping out of bankruptcy, will 
suddenly learn a new idea or a new method. 
He discovers the causes of his failure. He is 
filled with a new zeal. He puts his affairs in 
order. His business is ‘‘ born again.” And 
at once he begins to prosper. 
When a man loses his will-power, it is 
usually because of a mistake that he has made 
or because of a loss or an illness. In some way, 
a fear has come into his mind. 
Sometimes it is because a new affection or 
aversion or amusement has come into his life. 
His Purpose-will has been weakened by the 
formation of another group of concepts in his 
mind. 
Many a successful business man has been 
halted in the midst of his career, and palsied 
into a state of indecision by some new influence 
that was too strong for his Purpose-will. 
It may be a passion for a woman whom he 
cannot possess, or a craving for drink, or a keen 
interest in a new subject, or a strong dislike 
for one of his associates. It upsets the smooth 
course of his thoughts. It changes his will- 
power. He is no longer determined in the 
carrying out of his Purpose, and he appears to 
have lost his power to decide. 
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