AUTOSUGGESTION AND SALESMANSHIP - IAPSOP€¦ · autosuggestionand salesmanship or imaginationinbusiness by franklincolnscott prefaceby orisonswettmarden newyork americanlibraryservice

AUTOSUGGESTION ANDSALESMANSHIP

OR

IMAGINATION IN BUSINESS

BY

FRANK LINCOLN SCOTT

PREFACE BY

ORISON SWETT MARDEN

NEW YORKAMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE

1923

AUTOSUGGESTION ANDSALESMANSHIP

IMAGINATION IN BUSINESS

53

Copyright, 1923,AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE

All righis reterwed

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This little bookis affectionately dedicated to

A. w. D.

friend and business associatewho first introduced meto the writings of

bmile coufi

520207

PREFACE

In the past, before life had becomeso complex and competition so keen,anyone who knew the three R's regardless of fine distinctions of personality,general appearance or mental fitness,could go out and sell things. To-daysalesmanship has attained the dignityof a profession, and the ablest psychologists and lecturers are engaged at highsalaries to train young men for the important business of selling.This little book, "Autosuggestion andSalesmanship," will be an invaluableaid to both teacher and student in itsadmirable presentation of the techniqueof salesmanship. The author, besidesan excellent literary style, has the advantage of being an expert in the profession of which he writes. He wastesno time in elaborating fine-spun theories, but out of the practical knowledge gained by experience and observa

6

Preface

tion presents a concrete picture of thecauses of failure and the means bywhich success is won.Failure and success, alike, Mr. Scottclaims are due to the influence of autosuggestion, conscious and unconscious.In his opening chapter, "Imaginationin Selling," he says: "Emile Coue hasmade one discovery which marks thebeginning of an exact science of salesmanship. It is this: that in a conflictbetween Will and Imagination, Imagination always wins. As we go alongwe shall see more clearly why this isso, and how to use this discovery in ourselling on the road or behind the counter. We are going to catch glimpses ofthe way in which Imagination can beapplied to manufacturing and store-keeping. We are even going to see howand why Imagination succeeds in overcoming fear and shortcomings in ourdispositions where Will Power is amakeshift or a complete failure. Andwe will see how right Imagination

s Preface

cures physical disorders which mistaken Imagination brought into existence."This quotation furnishes the keynoteof the book, which takes the reader stepby step through every phase of a sale,analyzing the mind of the buyer andthe seller, showing how each is unconsciously influenced by the power ofimagination. The author gives manyconvincing illustrations to prove that,not the will, but imagination, backedby plain horse sense, is the force thatwins success in salesmanship.St. Paul said, "What I would, that doI not, but what I hate that do I."We are all conscious of doing thingsin spite of our will not to, for as Couesays, the imagination when in conflictwith the will always wins. If yourimagination convinces you that youcan't do a thing, that it is impossible,no will power, however strong, willovercome the conviction that you can'tdo it.

Preface 9

For example, as Coue points out, wecan walk comfortably on a plank a footwide without any danger of steppingoff it when it is on the ground. But ifthe same plank were erected one hundred feet in the air we could not walkthree yards on it without falling off, because the imagination would picture usfalling, as having vertigo, and tumblingdown to our death. No matter howhard we tried to make our will conquerour imagination, we could not do it

,for the fear of falling and the pictureconjured by the imagination would prevail over the strongest will.Some people can't possibly climbhigh ladders, or look down from a loftysteeple, because they are sure that if

they attempt to do so they will be compelled, in spite of their will power, toplunge down.When one is paralyzed from stagefright the will is absolutely helplessand, in fact, the more one tries to extricate himself from his embarrassment

10 Preface

the more embarrassed he becomes; theharder he wills to calm himself themore his knees shake and the more disconcerted and terrified he grows. Theonly way to overcome it is by use ofhis imagination.Many examples could be given tashow that, contrary to their will, people are constantly doing the things thatthey will not to do; and not doing thethings that they will to do. In otherwords, the imagination rules the will.What the imagination pictures as inevitable will happen, in spite of ourwill to prevent it. What you are convinced you can't do, it is impossible foryou to do.During our Civil War the officer incharge of the naval forces stationed offCharleston was ordered to take theport. After listening to his many reasons why he failed to do so, his superiorofficer said to him: "But there is another reason why you have not takenCharleston, which you have not men

Preface 11

tioned. You did not believe you couldtake it and, of course, you couldn't."Many a salesman is beaten before hebegins the battle with his prospect because he does not believe he is goingto get an order. His imagination keepssuggesting to him, "I am not going toget that man. I just feel it in mybones. But I am going to make a tryat him." That man is practically sureof losing his sale.According to a great scientist, Professor Nels Quevli, each cell in the bodyis a conscious intelligent being; andEdison says, "Every cell in us thinks."Many other eminent scientists say thesame thing. If this is true there ispractically no limit to the possibilitieswhich we can think and speak into thelittle cell minds of the body. We canflood them with hope, with confidence,with assurance, with the conviction ofour own indwelling well-nigh omnipotent power, a power which we derivefrom pur oneness with Omnipotence.

12 Preface

They will react to every thought yougive them. They know whether youare master or not. They know whetheryou go through the world as a con-querer or conquered, as a master or aslave, and they act accordingly. Theyfling back into your life the reflectionof your own thoughts, your motives,your convictions. Your condition willcorrespond with the mental attitudethey reflect. Thinking strong, positivethoughts, health, wholeness, completeness, perfection into them, will encourage and stimulate them. On the otherhand, the functioning of the variousorgans, of all the cells of the body, islowered when we are thinking negative,black, discouraging thoughts, and all ofour mental faculties correspond withour physical condition.One of the great tragedies of life isthat so many people are actually driving away the very things they are trying to get, killing their fondest hopes,and thwarting their ambitions, without

Preface 13

being conscious of it,

because they donot know the tremendous power ofthought. They do not know that theirmental attitude at any time is the pattern which is being built into theirlife, which, later, becomes a part oftheir career. Nine-tenths of those whoare poor and unsuccessful are headedin the wrong direction, headed rightaway from the condition or thing theylong for. Their negative, destructivefear thoughts by the law of attractionare driving far from them the successthey are working so hard to achieve.We tend to get what we expect, andwhen we repeat with faith Coue's"Every day, in every way, we are getting better and better," we are naturally expecting to get better and better,and we actually do. As a man expect-eth so is he, is even truer than "as a

man thinketh" because what we expect,what we are convinced of, is alreadyheaded our way.Job said, "The thing I feared has

Preface

come upon me." Whether you desireit and long for it

,

or fear and dread it,

the thing you persistently hold in yourmind is the thing that will come to youand stay with you. That is the law.The thing you hold in your mind,whatever it is

,

serves as a model for thelife processes, and will be reproducedin your life. You cannot get rid ofanything that troubles or harasses youwhile you keep picturing it in yourimagination. That is the way to draw

it to you.The whole secret of health, of happiness, of success in your life work, inwhatever you are trying to do, is inholding the thought of the thing youwant, and not the thing you don'twant, the thing you fear and are trying to get away from. The great majority of people are demonstrating, ordrawing to themselves, the very thingsthey don't want, because they are always thinking about them, picturingthem, dwelling upon them. They

Preface 15

would do anything possible to avoidthem, but they are constantly in theirminds and thus, by the law of attraction—like attracts like—this inevitablybrings them to them.Scientists tell us that all of the littlecells of the body are continually building, just as are the builders of skyscrapers or railroads. But they cannot planor originate. We are the architectswho furnish them the plans, the blueprints, by which they build. Theyobey every order, carry out every suggestion, telegraphed to them from thecentral station, the brain. The important thing is to give them the rightplan to build by, to establish their confidence in what you are trying to do, inwhat you are trying to be; to cementthe most friendly relations between thebrain, your larger mind, and thesebillions of little cell minds that arealways working for or against youaccording to the model, the thoughtpattern, you give them.

16 Preface

The foregoing is illustrative of theauthor's method of treating autosuggestion in salesmanship. He believesthat the greatest barriers to the success of many salesmen are faults of disposition, and shows how these may beovercome, also how health may bebuilt up and success won through thepower of autosuggestion squared byreason."Autosuggestion and Salesmanship"is as interesting to the layman as to theprofessional salesman. After reading itI fairly tingled with the desire to trymy hand at selling things. It willprove a boon not only to salesmen onthe road and behind the counter, andto those who have anything to do withthe training of salesmen, but to allclasses of workers, for everybody whois making a living by personal effortis really a salesman. If he is not selling merchandise, he is selling his personality, his ability, his skill, his education, his training, his experience.

CONTENTS

FAGE

Preface 6

I Imagination in Selling 19

II Taking the Fear Out of Salesmanship 34

III Getting Sold All Over 49

IV Suggestion in Salesmanship ... 60V Sugar for Sour Dispositions ... 74VI Imagination in Store-keeping . . 89

VTI Imagination in Manufacturing . 106

VIII Conscious Autosuggestion and

Health 117

IX "Day by Day " .... 133

17

I

IMAGINATION IN SELLING

"When the will and the imagination are antagonistic, it is always the imagination which wins,without any exception." —Emhjs Cov&.

A young man who graduated fromCornell a year and a half ago was telling me one of his discoveries in salesmanship.Shortly after his graduation, he secured a position as salesman with oneof the leading investment securityhouses on lower Broadway. For several weeks he was given training insalesmanship by his employers. Carefully they grounded him in finance.Thoroughly they taught him the pointsto play up, and the time-tested answersto common objections. They schooled

19

20 Autosuggestion and Salesmanship

him in business courtesy, the approach,the closing of sales, the frequency withwhich his calls should be made. Andonce a week a fine, upstanding vice-president talked to the class on how toput power into selling—how to breakthrough the hard shell of the buyer,how and when to be firm, how to'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer, on the 'ard'ighway of the prospective customer'sresistance.Every sale was pictured as a battle.Arguments were spoken of as "sellingammunition."Then our green salesman went out.Naturally his list of prospects was notparticularly impressive. The oldersalesmen had won the right to handlethe bank presidents, the millionaires,and the still more opulent moviequeens and operatic prima donnas.Our friend's calling list seemed mostlycomposed of young business men witha spare thousand now and then—butnot too often "now."

i i 11 ■ i

Imagination in Selling 21

And the young bond salesman didhis best to justify his training. He hadall the words right. He knew what hemeant when he said "collateral,""amortization," "sinking fund"—ohyes. And he wasn't a bit afraid to letthese words display his knowledge. Hetalked knowingly about the relativemerits of all the leading securities whichdaily show their names on the financialpages of the newspapers.And he never forgot that every saleis a battle. He pushed the enemy'sline. He watched for a weakening. Hehammered home points. He workedhard and conscientiously. He was amiracle of will power, insistence andpersistence.Days went by. Months went by.Now and then he sold a bond. But histotal results weren't satisfactory. Oneday he happened in on a prospectivecustomer who asked immediately fora New York Central bond. The twoyoung men discovered that they had


mutual acquaintances and much incommon. A warm friendship grew outof their meeting.Shortly after, the bond salesman wastaking stock of himself. He had begunto think that perhaps he was in thewrong line. He went over to the customer-friend who had bought the NewYork Central bond. He laid out hisproblem. The friend thought a while.Finally he said, "Jim, perhaps you'retrying to sell too much on the powerof arguments and statistics. You'veadvised me twice now as to certainbonds to buy. You appealed to myreason but, as I've been listening toyou I realized that I don't buy bondsin quite that way. Do you know whyI wanted that New York Central bondinstead of the one you recommended?""No," said the would-be salesman."Well," continued the analyst, "ofcourse, it's safe, it gives a good return,and in general it's a first-class security.


But my imagination seems to enter intothe purchase of every bond I buy. Ofcourse bonds are mortgages on business—temporarily they make me a partowner of the assets of the company orcorporation which issues them. Myfirst bond was a New York Telephone.Why? Because I pictured myself ashaving a part ownership in the telephone company every time I lifted thereceiver. Then I bought some mortgage bonds on big hotels and officebuildings. Why? Again, because itgave my imagination a certain satisfaction to feel that my money helpedto erect some of the biggest buildingsin the country."The talk went on. And from it

,

thebond salesman caught a hint which hassince made him one of the high men inhis company's sales force. He learnedby experience that imagination can beput into such an apparently cold business as that of investment securities.


Emile Coue has made one discoverywhich marks the beginning of an exact

science of salesmanship. It is this:That in a conflict between Will andImagination, Imagination always wins.As we go along, we will see more clearlywhy this is so, and how to use this discovery in our selling on the road orbehind the counter. We are going tocatch glimpses of the way in whichImagination can be applied to manufacturing and store-keeping. We areeven going to see how and why Imagination succeeds in overcoming fear andshortcomings in our dispositions whereWill Power is a makeshift or a completefailure. And we will see how rightImagination cures physical disorderswhich mistaken Imagination broughtinto existence.Experienced salesmanagers havenoticed that the so-called "strong arm,"willful salesman usually doesn't lastlong. The salesmanager for one of the


big tire companies who has carefullystudied the teachings of Coue nowunderstands better why this is so."The willful salesman," he says, "seeksby sheer force to make the dealer buy.From the standpoint of logic he maybe entirely right. But the dealer willinvent some excuse and manage somehow to get out of buying."An hour later, along comes anothersalesman who appeals to the dealer'sImagination and a fine order is theresult."I asked this salesmanager if he couldgive me examples of the two methodsof selling. He scratched on a pad afew minutes and handed me this:

WILL

"(1) I want to sell you some tires.(2) You need our brand. (3) Theprices are right. (4) Our tires are better than any of this junk you havenow."


IMAGINATION

"(1) Really, Mr. Brown, in a finestore like yours you could sell a lot ofour tires. (2) Lots of people use ourtires only. You don't realize that you'relosing sales by not carrying them, because many customers look in the window or at your tire stock when theycome in to buy a spark plug, and notseeing our tires, they simply go somewhere else when the need for a tirearises. (3) In a store like this Iwouldn't be surprised if you could make$75 a week net profit on our tires alone.(4) Some of the best customers intown buy our tires—The White Taxi-cab Company, The Brown Bus Corporation, and a very large number ofchauffeurs. And they all pay full price,because they know that the tire iaworth it."The salesmanager explained."Now," he said, "notice the differentways in which the two salesmen put


things. I've numbered the sentencesfor purposes of comparison.

"Sentences 1

"Will Power Salesman sets out toenforce his will on the prospective customer. Most dealers resent this.Dealer mentally says 'You're not goingto make me buy some tires!'"Imaginative Salesman deftly presents a very acceptable picture to thedealer—that of selling a lot of tires,instead of buying a lot of tires. Noticethe difference. Buying tires suggestsexpense, selling them suggests profit.

"Sentences 2

"Will Power Salesman makes astrong general claim with which thedealer may disagree. No Picture orImage is suggested by this sentence."Imaginative Salesman talks Profit,and presents another Picture—that of


possible customers about whom thedealer had not thought before.

"Sentences 3

"Will Power Salesman is assertiveabout Price. Price alone means little.No Image is projected on the dealer'smind."Imaginative Salesman presents adefinite Picture of the Profit possibility.You can form a mental Image or Picture of $75 in Profits where you can'tpicture the abstract word 'Price.'

"Sentences 4

"Will Power Salesman makes a finaleffort to dominate the dealer by knocking his other goods—and probably onlyarouses antagonism and ill will."Imaginative Salesman presentsanother agreeable and easily visualizedPicture—that of possible customerswho buy many tires at a time, and


larger-size tires on which there is naturally a better profit. The successionof agreeable Pictures has stirred Imagination to a point where the sale isextremely probable."This sales manager gives us a valuable clue on how to stir Imaginationfavorable to your product.Among the many definitions of Imagination is this one : "The power or process of having mental images."Coue, in his practise, persistentlysuggests agreeable mental Images orPictures to his patients. The suffererwith a tumor is given a Picture in whichthe growth is seen to shrink and disappear. The morbid are given Picturesof happiness to let dwell in theirthoughts and become realities. It isnot so far a cry between successful mental therapeutics and scientific salesmanship as you might think. This willbecome more and more apparent toyou as we go on.Before coming to the next chapter,


however, we want to see a few moreexamples of Imagination in salesmanship. Observe the Image-makingquality of these sales which have beenrelated to me by various salesmen orsalesmanagers.One salesman for a new substitutefor dynamite was outselling all theother salesmen on the force. The advantage offered by the new product wasthat it could not explode through accidental concussion. The other salesmenexplained this advantage. The exceptional salesman appealed to Imagination. He would take a piece of the new-explosive. As he talked with the prospect, he would show the sample andsay, "This new product of ours is evenmore powerful than dynamite. Youuse it in practically the same way.But ." Here he lifted the sampleand threw it with all his might on thefloor. The buyer had no time to stophim. But through his Imagination galloped dreadful possibilities.


And then calmly, the salesman wouldsay, "You see it can't accidentally explode!"An automobile dealer had a battered-up old car which dragged on his hands—taken as part payment on a new car.He marked the price way down andstill he could not secure a buyer. Finally he wrote an advertisement something like this:"we'll hate to bee this go"We have a 5-year-old P— car nowin our Used Car Department. Thiscar was given by one of New York'sfamous millionaires to his son for awedding present. Five years ago people on Fifth Avenue turned around tolook at it a second time. It's not somuch to look at now, but it has beenall over North America and in England, Holland, France, Belgium andItaly. The engine still runs sweet andstrong and both the owner and ourselves would like to see that this cargets into good hands. No, we can't


print the former owner's name here;we're pledged to tell it only to thebuyer. The price is very attractive."Result: six called to see the carwhich for two months had been unableto attract a single inspection—all because it was advertised without Imagination.One of the best retail hat salesmenin Boston has unconsciously usedImage-making for years without realizing that it is the first and cardinal pointin scientific selling. In bringing outvarious hats for the customer to try on,he always made comments which presented agreeable Images. Examples:

"Quite a few of the Harvard men arewearing this one." "I sold a hat exactly like that to two bank presidentslast week." Notice what Pictures anddesirable associations go with thesecomments as compared to, "Yes, that'sa very fine hat," or "Here's a newmodel which is very stylish."It was Saturday afternoon. The


week ended, the workers were comingout of office buildings. Two bootblacks were competing for trade. Theirprices were the same. Their equipment was the same. They were of asize physically, and matched as to type.One said, "Shine, boss?"The other, "Get your Sunday shine."Which salesman do you think wasbusiest?Yes; you are right. The one whostirred Imagination through presentinga definite Image.

n

TAKING THE FEAR OUT OFSALESMANSHIP

"I must also add—and it is extremely important—that if up to the present you havelacked confidence in yourself, I tell you thatthis self-distrust will disappear little by littleand give place to self-confidence, based on theknowledge of this force of incalculable powerwhich is in each one of us."—Emile CouA.

• • •

One of the finest preachers in Canada never stepped into the pulpit without feeling a positive terror of his audience. This continued until the daywhen, at a ripe old age, he retired fromactive service.One who was frequently behind thescenes at the Metropolitan OperaHouse says that Caruso often gave evidence of nervousness and fear beforestepping out to face the audience whichhad come there to offer him their

84

Taking fear out of Salesmanship 35

warmest admiration and homage. Thegreat tenor himself admitted as muchin an interview which appeared in oneof the prominent monthly magazines.A Pennsylvania manufacturer of special machinery must necessarily sell hisproduct to the heads of importantmanufacturing plants. The cost of theequipment runs so high that the purchasing agent or chief engineer do notdare to buy without consulting one ofthe higher executives. This machinerymanufacturer was talking about hisproblems. "Sometimes," he said, "itseems as though the most perplexingof them all was that of keeping up thecourage of the salesmen. We do ourbest for them. We equip them withengineering reports, testimonials, andother data. We go over with eachsalesman in detail his list of customers,taking up the special problems whichwill be most likely to crop up in eachsale. The salesmen leave, apparentlyall primed up and full of belief in what


they have to offer. And yet we knowthat nothing but plain fear of the bigbuyer keeps our sales from being atleast 50 per cent higher than they aretoday. The salesman frequently wiltsright down when he must present hiscase to some prominent captain of industry."Yes, fear of the Big Buyer is fairlycommon. Says the salesman, "Youknow you have to handle those bigguns with kid gloves."But that isn't the only fear insalesmanship. There are other typesof salesman's fears as well.Fear of the Little Buyer, for example.The salesman explains, "They're terrible. They watch every penny."Fear of the Hard-Boiled Buyer—"Everybody else fails with that man.I don't see what right they have to expect me to sell him!"Fear of the Evasive Buyer—"He's soslippery that you simply can't get holdof him."


Fear of the—well, we might listevery type of buyer that exists todayand find as reasonable a fear to listbeside it.And the worst thing of all aboutFear—is the fear of it! It's the anticipation of Fear that weakens somany otherwise good sales talks. Thesalesman finds that he really isn't afraidwhen once he gets into action. TheCanadian clergyman really wasn'tafraid when he began to talk. Carusoreally wasn't afraid when he openedhis mouth and the golden notes cameout as usual. But anticipation of disaster robs some salesmen of so muchof their "go" that they face the hardcustomer with their best energy frittered away and the remainder is notquite enough to effect the sale.Coue attaches extreme importanceto the elimination of fear, and histeachings include several invaluablehints to the salesman who has deter


mined to rid himself of this drain onhis energy.A salesman for one of the big luggagemanufacturers admits that he was extremely self-conscious and fearful attimes. His usual method of selling wasto give a general talk on the merits ofhis goods, and then open a catalog toshow photographs of the various trunksand bags which made up the line. Thisparticular salesman struck up a friendship one day with another salesmanwho carried a sample case, which hedisplayed and described with a greatdeal of enthusiasm. The luggage manfelt envious. Later on, thinking itover, he decided that it would be awonderful thing for him if he too couldcarry a sample case showing certainparts of his trunks and bags. He somehow saw a sample case as a means ofgiving him needed courage in the presence of hard buyers. When next hewas at the factory he made up such acase at his own expense. His line had


many points of superiority. Thehandles of the bags were made in anunusual way to avoid breakage. Hesecured one of these handles, cut open,to show the construction. The trunklocks were superior. He got one ofthose too. The linings were of remarkably good material. So he cut someswatches to take along with him. Altogether, he collected twenty-odd smallobjects which demonstrated conclusively the quality which was put intohis line. When he took these out onhis next trip, he found that all of hisfear was gone.He cannot explain why, but a closestudent of Coue's will not find it sohard to discover the important changewhich had taken place in this salesman's mental attitude.For one thing, his thoughts were nowalmost entirely withdrawn from him

self and focussed instead on somesamples which he would immediatelyshow to the dealer. He had entertained


doubts about the impressions which hemight personally make upon the dealer,but he had no doubts at all about theability of his samples to interest thecustomer and win his solid respect.Suggestions of fear had bombarded himregarding his personal ability but nosuch suggestions could bombard himregarding the worth of his line whichwas now so easy to prove.Coue shows his patients that insteadof anticipating trouble, they must learnto anticipate benefits. One of Coue'sfellow countrymen, La Rochefoucauld,once said, "Gratitude is a lively senseof benefits to come." If the salesmancan regard his job with this kind ofgratitude he will find that he has gonea long way toward forestalling fear.Now for a practical application.If you call on a customer expecting abattle royal, the chances are that youwill get it. If you call expecting a fair,square chance, you will rarely fail to


have the interview match up with yourexpectations.Why?Coue shows that our expectationswhen set or focussed in a certain direction tend to enlist all of the marvelouspowers of the subconscious mind to actin just the right way to bring about thematerialization of that which we havehoped for. Set Expectation and Imagination upon the pleasures of seeingand smelling the summer flowers andyou will get rid of hay fever. You willbe benefited by a good suggestion,mentally entertained, whereas in thepast you may have been the victim ofthe bad suggestion that this same plantlife would bring you sneezes and tears.Now you find that it is just as easy toget pleasure from flowers as pain. Inanother chapter we will see more in detail why this is so and how it comes topass.

Returning to the matter of fear, welearn from Coue the method by which


it may be increasingly replaced by courage.

For one thing, do not say, "I am notafraid" or "I won't let that dealer fussme." Unconsciously you are impressedby the very mental state which you aretrying to avoid—represented in thesesentences by the words "afraid" and"fuss." Instead, you want to get awayas far as possible from the Imagesor Pictures which these words bringbefore you. Also a sentence such as "Iam not afraid" is apt to be made fromthe standpoint of Will, and we havelearned that the right application ofImagination will help us far more.So we want an Image. We want tocorrect our Fear picture and replace itwith an Image of courage and a "senseof benefits to come."Here is how a prominent publicspeaker found the answer to the problem. Although he has delighted thousands of audiences, it was years beforehe overcame his fear of the multitude


of upturned faces which looked at himas he stepped onto the platform. Heused to fairly drive himself out on thestage by power of Will, but his kneeswere always shaky and his mouthcaught a bit until he launched fairlyinto his subject and forgot himself.Then he found the way to cure hisfear through Image-ination, rightly directed. It all came to him naturallyand easily one evening as he was preparing for a lecture in Des Moines,Iowa. The old trembles of anticipationcame knocking at the door when reasonand common sense at last assertedthemselves.He described the experience to afriend in about these words, "The picture of the audience came to me, withthe usual fear that I would not measureup to their expectations. And right atthe heels of that suggestion, followedthis: Why, ther/re friendly? They'vepaid good money to come and hear me.They're expecting a good message.


They've heard from others that I'mworth hearing! What a fine encouraging picture. And I held my thoughtsfixed on that idea as I walked to theplace where my talk was to be delivered.In my Imagination I heard the hum oftheir conversation as I stood behind thewings. I heard with pleasure their applause as I came out to face them. Ivisualized their interested faces as I began to talk. I pictured the satisfaction I always feel after giving whatlittle I may have to an interested groupof listeners. From that moment Iceased to fear my audiences, and mynew courage enables me to start outeach lecture with a freedom which Inever had before."If you sell or want to sell, you canapply this method to your own work.Instead of looking forward to personalcontacts with misgivings, let yourImagination dwell pleasantly on the experience. Picture an interested, expectant listener. See yourself confi


dent, courteous and thorough in yourwork as you present your proposition.Remember that others, less able thanyourself, have probably sold successfully to this man. Keep your mindset on this Picture as you go in to seehim.One word of caution.Coue does not teach that we canImagine ourselves into success whichis beyond our deserving or out of reachof our ability and training. YourImagination and autosuggestion mustsquare up with reason.At the beginning of this chapter wasreprinted a sentence from one of Coue'streaments. This may easily be adaptedto an autosuggestion to be repeatedseveral times at night before going tosleep and in the morning when awakening. Editing Coue's sentence for thispurpose, we have:"This self-distrust is disappearinglittle by little and is steadily being replaced by self-confidence which will


make it easier every day for me to meetand sell to new customers."That is a perfectly reasonable declaration to make and will bring resultsin salesmanship even as Coue hasproved it to succeed when used to assistthe many fearful and neurotic patientswho have become free under his treatment.Try, if possible, to see your fears inall their natural silliness. To see afear in a humorous light is to relax, andto relax is to put yourself in the bestpossible physical condition to resistfear.The physical conditions associatedwith fear are tenseness, tightness, contraction, constriction. The thoroughlyfrightened animal stops, draws itself together, crouches. The highest animal—man—is no exception. But the mancan call upon Will or Imagination tohelp him overcome or at least lessenhis fear.But see what happens when you use


Will. The physical conditions associated with fear are exactly the sameas those associated with the strong attempt to use Will! The man intenselyusing Will power compresses his lips,pulls down his eyebrows, clenches hisfists, draws himself together! Andonly makes his fear worse!Could any evidence point moreclearly to the need for constructiveImagination in the elimination of fear?Under the influence of pleasant anticipations and Images, persistentlydwelt upon in the mind, a sense of freedom comes. The clenched fists open.The tense mouth relaxes. The browsmooths out. The taut muscles "letgo." The head lifts itself up. And feargoes.Don't despise this physical aspect ofthe situation. Take full advantage ofit when you are dealing with that hardcustomer.Says Coue, "So when you wish to dosomething reasonable, or when you


have a duty to perform, always thinkthat it is easy, and make the wordsdifficult, impossible, I cannot, it isstronger than I, I cannot prevent myself from . . ., disappear from yourvocabulary; they are not English.What is English is: 'It is easy and Ican.' By considering the thing easy itbecomes so for you, although it mightseem difficult to others. You will do itquickly and well, and without fatigue,because you do it without effort, whereas if you had considered it as difficultor impossible it would have become sofor you, simply because you would havethought it so."

Ill

GETTING SOLD ALL OVER

"Every one of our thoughts, good or bad, becomes concrete, and becomes in short a reality."—Emile Coufi.

• • •

Every one of your thoughts aboutyour product and your house must beright before you are truly ready to sell.The salesmanager for one of the largegrocery jobbers makes a periodical analysis and study of each salesman's reports for the previous three months."In this way," he says, "I can often getat the real reason why a salesman isnot selling more of our goods. With asheaf of one man's reports before me itis surprising to see how regularly someone excuse will appear for failing tomake the sale. For example, Wray, \one of our best men, gave this as hismost common reason for not closingthe sale, 'This dealer buys from a friendand is therefore a hard one to swing to

49


our line.' Richards, another of ourmen, seemed to run most commonly tothis as an alibi, 'This dealer buys fromSo-and-so because he gets more favorable terms and discounts.' Stuart hadas his most common explanation fornot landing a dealer, 'This dealer insists that our prices are too high.'"So I got the three men together."'Fellows,' I said, 'here's somethingfor you to think about. Twenty-eighttimes during the past three monthsWray wrote that he couldn't sell thedealer because of personal friendshipfor a competitive salesman. Thirtytimes during the same period Richardssaid that he couldn't sell because competitors offered better terms. Andforty-one times Stuart reported thatour prices were too high!" 'What's the answer? I know thatyou fellows are doing your level best.You've gladly accepted all the help andsuggestions I could give you. Now Iwant to finish your training as sales

Getting Sold all Over 51

men, and I think it can be done in avery few minutes." 'Wray, one of two possibilities istrue in your case. Either you haven'tlearned how to show a dealer that astock bought solely on a friendshipbasis will prove disastrous in the longrun, or else you aren't striving enoughto make friends of the dealers you callon. If you were strong on both of thesepoints you wouldn't be turning in thisexcuse which hardly ever appears onthe reports of either Richards or Stuart." 'Richards, you aren't yourself entirely convinced that our discounts arefair, or else you don't realize how favorably they compare with those offeredon competitive goods. For your benefit, I give you this sheet which showsthat the only houses offering betterterms and discounts are those whichthe well-informed retailer will admitto be low-grade, and concerns whichcannot always be relied upon to deliver


goods that live up to the representations made for them by the salesmen.Again, the proof that you are wronglies in the fact that during the pastthree months neither Wray nor Stuarthave offered poor discounts as a reasonfor not closing a sale." 'Stuart, your excuse gives megreater cause for worry than those offered by either Wray or Richards.Somehow you must still feel that youhave to sell the grocer on a price basis.As we're selling only the better class ofgroceries, you're doomed to failure ifyou keep on being willing to accept anobjection to our prices as valid. Youronly salvation is to cut the word "price"out of your vocabulary and learn howto make high-grade goods and a high-grade business sound attractive to yourcustomers.' "

Any salesman who wants to find outif he is "sold all over" can easily applythis method of analysis to his own reports.


What excuses do you most commonlyaccept from the dealer as good andsufficient explanations for his refusalto buy? Look over your reports.That's where you will find the reasonsfor your failures!When you find one alibi frequentlyrepeated, lose no time in gettingstraight on that particular point. Itwill be well worth consecrating all yourspare time to the effort.The soldier sometimes wonders if thecause for which he fights is really worthwhile. Blue Monday comes to theactor, the broker, the ditch digger, themerchant. Yes, and to the salesmantoo. Some days everything seemswrong. The whole job seems worthless. After all, is the product really asgood as it has been represented? Is thehouse really deserving of prosperity?Isn't it time to look for some otherconnection?Right there autosuggestion is able tocome to the rescue amazingly. It is


quite possible for the blue salesman toresell himself "all over" and quicklybegin to bring home the bacon again.Carefully consider each main point involved. Reduce it to its simplestterms. Meet each suggestion of inferiority with a correct, positive statement. A salesman to whom this advicewas given wrote down a self-treatmentwhich read as follows:

"(1) Am I getting a square dealfrom my employers? Yes. No otherhouse in my line pays its salesmenmore, nor offers them a better chancefor advancement. Nor are my employers niggardly about expenses likemany companies I know of. They giveme all I can expect in the way of selling equipment, and if I think up anyadditional helps which I really need, Iknow that these too will be promptlytaken care of.

"(2) Does my product offer goodvalue to the dealer? It certainly does.It is easy for the dealer to resell by rea


son of its favorable standing with thepublic for many years. A considerableamount of first-class advertising constantly stimulates and increases this demand. Many of the leading merchantsin my territory carry and display thesegoods and consider them far ahead ofthose offered by competing houses.

"(3) Are my employers businesslikeand friendly with their trade? Yes indeed. They promptly and courteouslyanswer all letters. They pack carefullyand ship promptly. They are very reasonable about credit arrangements.They give the dealer good display cardsand display cases to help sell the goods,and frequently send useful suggestionsthrough special bulletins. Dealers oftentell me how much these bulletins havehelped them.

"(4) Are the prices right? Yes.The public demand is plenty of indication of that."(5) Is the dealer's profit fair? Hemight make a little more profit per sale


on inferior merchandise, but the wisest,most experienced dealers agree thatthey can hold trade better on my goods,and that must always be consideredalong with the margin of profit.Further, there is an actual call for mygoods which does not exist on thecheaper, nondescript brands.

"(6) Have I any kicks at all aboutthe treatment I get from my employers? Once in a while. But I find thatmost of them are not serious and I canusually get a fair hearing on the others.I realize that no employer is absolutelyperfect. Neither am I as a salesmanperfect. All in all their reasonablecomplaints about my work would probably add up to as big a total as mycomplaints about them. When I amsore or discouraged I will rememberthis and carry on.

"(7) Therefore is it up to me to sell?Yes. There are lots of dealers in myterritory who are pushing similar goodswhich do not equal mine in value of


fered to either the trade or the consumer. Every one of these dealers isa challenge to my ability as a salesman.I owe it to these dealers, my product,my employers, and myself to presentmy case so interestingly and convincingly that these dealers will get thebenefit of handling my better goods."And that's exactly what I am goingto do."Any salesman can easily draw upsome group of analytical and suggestivestatements such as these. The salesman referred to has his typewrittenon a stout card which he carries withhim and frequently looks at while riding on to the next town.On adapting his idea you may findthat your company or your product donot stand up so well under such ananalysis. Never mnid. Make whatever positive, favorable statements youcan, and cover the negatives in somewhat the same way as they are in theexample given. See Question 6 and its


answer. No product presented to anydealer is entirely perfect. If it were,the dealers would all reach for it sofast that you wouldn't be needed at allto sell it!The whole output in that case couldbe sold by mail.After serious thought, if you findthat you can answer only one or twoof these negative suggestions aboutwhat you sell, you can be thankful thatyou have discovered that you are working for the wrong house, and that youneed waste no time in hunting for another position where the possible positives are more in the majority.The Coue formula:

"Day by day, in every way,I am getting better and better."

can serve to better your salesmanshipin every respect at the same time thatit is bringing you better health, habits,and qualities of disposition. Remember the importance of the words "in


every respect." Coue lays great stresson their value.You should too, if you want to getthe fullest possible value from histeachings and their application to salesmanship as set forth in this book.

IV

SUGGESTION IN SALESMANSHIP

"To have and to inspire unalterable confidence,one must walk with the assurance of perfect sincerity, and in order to possess this assurance andsincerity, one must wish for the good of othersmore than one's own."—''Culture de la ForceMorale," by C. Baudouin.

• » *

Swivel-chair "experts" on sellingsometimes speak of "hypnotizing" thebuyer.Coue shows that actually this is impossible.We do not really accept suggestionsfrom outside unless we consciously orunconsciously wish to. In actual experiments, hypnotists under proper supervision, for the sake of getting lighton mental phenomena, have put subjects into a state of hypnosis and thencommanded them to do some act whichthe same people could not be persuadedto carry out if awake and conscious.

60

Suggestion in Salesmanship 61

These experiments ended in failure.For example, a girl might be hypnotized and then told to go and murderher father. She would refuse, start toexpostulate, or come out of her trance.Or a staid and dignified old gentlemanmight be hypnotized and told to actlike a monkey. This he might refuseto do, and when pressed, would simply"come to." We are all aware that eventhe most expert hypnotists find subjectswho cannot be made to pass into thehypnotic state.No honest or honorable salesmanwants to enforce his will on that_ofthe customer. But if any readers ofthis book look upon suggestion as apossible means to that end, they aregoing to be disappointed.Coue lays great emphasis on the factthat suggestion can be used successfullyonly when the suggestion made squareswith the desire of the patient, or inthis case, the prospective customer.He says, "What then is suggestion?


It may be defined as 'the act of imposing an idea on the brain of another.'Does this action really exist? Properlyspeaking, no. Suggestion does not indeed exist by itself. It does not andcannot exist except on the sine quanon condition of transforming itselfinto autosuggestion in the subject.This latter word may be defined as 'theimplanting of an idea in oneself byoneself.'"You may make a suggestion tosomeone; if the unconscious of the latter does not accept the suggestion, if ithas not, as it were, digested it

,

in orderto transform it into autosuggestion, it

produces no result. I have myselfoccasionally made a more or less commonplace suggestion to ordinarily veryobedient subjects quite unsuccessfully.The reason is that the unconscious ofthe subject refused to accept it and didnot transform it into autosuggestion."

A cardinal point in the use of suggestion in salesmanship is this: Always


present suggestions to the customerwhich he himself wants to come true.Only then will he accept your suggestions and convert them into autosuggestions—in other words, only thenwill he "sell himself."The only acceptable suggestions tohim are those which bring up Imagesof benefits or pleasures.Build your selling talk around suchImages and you cannot fail to succeed.A salesman who travels for one ofthe most exclusive manufacturers ofready-to-wear men's clothing has discovered that the most successful suggestion he can offer is coupled with aPicture or Image of a high-grade storeand high-grade trade. In his sellinghe repeatedly uses the word "high-grade." A sample selling talk of hiswould probably read something likethis:"You certainly have a nice storehere, but what are you doing to getmore of the high-grade business?"


The customer can make only one oftwo answers:

(1) He may answer that he doesn'tget as much high-grade business as hewould like, or

(2) He may answer that he alreadyhas most of the high-grade trade. Inthis case the salesman will say, "But,of course you could take care of stillmore high-grade trade."Obviously the answer is yes.The salesman then suggests a Picture of more and more high-grade customers coming in to buy more andmore high-grade clothing. He picturesthis result as the natural outcome offeaturing the line of clothing which herepresents. He shows swatches ofwoolens, dwelling on the fact that thesematerials are high-grade. He quotesthe experiences of many high-gradedealers in other cities who have put inand pushed this high-grade clothing.He points out that these high-gradegarments not only offer greater profit


per sale, but that they are bought byhigh-grade customers who do not wearone suit threadbare before buyinganother. He shows some of the high-grade advertising which his companyputs into print. He gets out high-grade announcements, high-grade booklets, high-grade display cards, etc. Asthe line is high-grade, the sale of it isalways confined to only one dealer ina city.Over and over the word "high-grade"is used.It presents an extremely acceptablepicture to any dealer.As the salesman talks along theselines, the dealer says to himself, "Yes,I would like to have more high-gradecustomers. That's right, the profit ishigher on high-grade clothing than onthis lower-priced line I'm carrying now.Nothing will put my clerks more on tiptoe than a lot of high-grade customerscoming in. It's more satisfactory to


be associated with high-grade tradethan the lower-class trade."In other words, every suggestion ofthe salesman has been turned by thedealer into an autosuggestion! Andthe force of the single idea persistentlydwelt upon by the Imagination becomesirresistible.Coue says, "Every thought entirelyfilling our mind becomes true for usand tends to transform itself into anaction." In order to make a thoughtentirely fill your customer's mind oneprecaution is necessary.You must be careful not to deal intoo many Images. The mind can dwellfar more intensely on one Image thanon a dozen. Some salesmen make themistake of using too many selling arguments. If you argue price, profits, performance, deliveries, materials, workmanship, experience, and terms in thesame sales talk, the chances are thatyou will only confuse many of the possible customers you talk with.


But it is not necessary to throw thesegood talking points overboard.Aim to present the one Image whichhas the greatest appeal, carefully usingthe others as reinforcing points ratherthan additional reasons for buying. Asan example: "High-grade clothingcommands high-grade prices. High-grade prices mean high-grade profits.Of course we have to put high-gradematerials into our garments—high-grade customers expect them. Our experience has all been with high-gradeclothing—we make none to sell at lowerprices."

• * •

Remember also that the dealer probably has his consciousness already filledwith Images quite different from theone which you are trying to impressupon him. He may be worrying aboutan overdue shipment, or sickness athome. Perhaps he is thinking about a


fishing trip which he is eagerly lookingforward to. As you watch him noddingto your talk, he may in reality be thinking about a new radio set which he isgoing to buy on the way home.How often do you really give undivided attention to those who attemptin conversation to interest you?This human failing emphasizes fromanother standpoint the necessity ofpresenting a single Picture or Image ata time and the further necessity ofmaking that Image as sharp and clearas possible. Your Image is in competition with other Images. So your Imagemust be more striking, more interesting, more acceptable than the others.You have got to crowd out the otherImages before yours can, as Coue says,"entirely fill" the mind and "transformitself into action."

» » »

Here is something which you cancount on: Every customer with whom


you deal has within him in some formor other the desire to be great. Perhaps he wants only to be a greatpinochle player, or an authority onIndian arrow heads. Possibly thedesire is even perverted somewhat.But in some form or other it is there.The art of selling successfully consistslargely of stirring up this desire to begreat and then presenting an Imagewhich gratifies it and thus leads to asale.

An agent for one of the less-knownautomobiles successfully uses suggestion by actually playing up the small-ness of his company and its output.His car is

,

of course, well made andfairly priced. In talking with themotorist who is looking over the carfor the first time, this dealer commonlyenquires where the visitor lives. Often

it is possible to say, "If you buy one ofthese cars, you'll be the only one onthe block who owns one." Or he maysay, "Of course there aren't many of


these cars in town. The production issmall and we can get only a few carsthis year." This appeals to the desirefor exclusiveness (one form of the desireto be great) which is so common inmany people. This dealer is alwayssold out months ahead as a result ofhis skill at making a suggestion whichthe prospective customer turns intothe autosuggestion : "Here is my chanceto be exclusive."The head of a big storage warehousein one of the Atlantic-coast citiesplumes himself on the fact that he is

,and has always been, extremely progressive. He was a pioneer in sharingprofits with his employes. His horsesin former days were the pride of theirdrivers. In many ways this man hasbeen an innovator. Some years agocame the dawn of the motor truck.Salesmen called on this gentleman.Mostly they talked mechanical specifications and the comparative costs ofhorse-drawn and motor-truck hauling.


They even offered to take his old equipment in at an attractive allowance.But the warehouse man was not interested. He didn't know the differencebetween a cam shaft and a wrist pin.A few dollars saving didn't interest him.Perhaps you have already guessedhow he was finally sold. A smart salesman realized that every selling pointmust be subordinated to a direct appealto this man's desire to be progressive.He asked the hard customer to picturethe streets of the future—there was nodoubt but that the horse-drawn vehiclewould be almost entirely absent. Hepictured the moving van of the future—and it was found that horses were tooslow and wasteful. He showed thatprogress called for a larger radius ofoperation—and that only a motortruck could answer the need.After stirring the Imagination withImages, nothing remained but to sowthe suggestion that all those forwardsteps were possible then and there.


And that selling talk won where mountains of specifications and generalitieshad failed.To use suggestion in selling, then,there are several points to be borne inmind:

(1) Properly speaking, suggestiondoes not exist by itself.

(2) To be effective, the suggestionmust be acceptable to the conscious orsubconscious mind of the customer orhe will not turn it into an autosuggestion.

(3) A successful suggestion includesan Image or Picture of benefits to come.If the dealer cannot create a mentalPicture of benefits from your sellingtalk, the chances are that the suggestion will not be very successful.(4) Since various Images are alwayspassing through consciousness, it isnecessary that the Image in your suggestion be sharp, clear, and extremelydesirable in the mind of the customer.Otherwise, your Image will only be


mixed together with the other Imageswhich already occupy his thoughts.(5) Don't attempt to use suggestionuntil you know something about theman you are talking to. Prematureattempts to use suggestion may leadyou into making the wrong appeal, andthus be inefficient or actually antagonize the customer.

V

SUGAR FOR SOUR DISPOSITIONS

"Likewise, if you occasionally suffer now fromdepression, if you are gloomy and prone to worryand look on the dark side of things, from nowonwards you will cease to do so, and, instead ofworrying and being depressed and looking onthe dark side of things, you are going to feelperfectly cheerful, possibly without any specialreason for it, just as you used to feel depressedfor no particular reason."—Emile Coue.

* * •

The quotation above is from a section of Coue's book in which heinstructs the reader how to go abouttreating others in case of illness.Although the original and completetext deals with therapeutic work, it isdecidedly significant that Coue makeshis suggestions cover the correction offlaws and shortcomings in the disposition and mental outlook of the patient.

74

Sugar for Sour Dispositions 75

Fear, anger, depression and othernegative qualities of the mind actuallycreate chemical poisons within thebody. In many cases these negativethoughts or emotional states are a contributing factor in illness, if not thesole cause. This statement is basedentirely on the findings of scientific menwho have conducted their experimentsalong purely scientific lines.It is becoming more and more common for physicians to say that canceris caused by fear or worry.Authorities on psychology are presenting strong evidence that goiter maybe due directly to worry about moneymatters.But this is not the place to enter intoa discussion of the effects of emotionalconditions on the health. Our purposein this chapter is to take up insteadthe method of ridding ourselves ofthese moods which also interfere withour ability as salesmen.In recent years some of the large


chains of stores have laid great emphasis on the simple, courteous "Thankyou!" which all clerks have beeninstructed to say to each customer atthe conclusion of the purchase. In onecase at least, this single difference instore-keeping is considered a mostfruitful reason for the success of theenterprise.But the advocates of "Thank you!"do not seem to have realized more thanhalf of the importance of this simplecourtesy. They have attached muchemphasis to the effect which "Thankyou!" has on the customer. True, thatvalue is not to be despised. Otherthings equal, the customer will alwaysprefer to deal with the clerk or salesman who shows the best breeding.Now, a student of Coue's writingsknows that the clerk's "Thank you!"has another practical side to it whichis certainly quite as valuable, if notmore so, than the effect it may haveon the customer. And that is—the

(Sugar for Sour Dispositions 77

autosuggestive value which a constantrepetition of "Thank you!" has onthe clerk himself!The world is perhaps just beginningto learn how extremely practical it isto think rightly and act rightly. Letus see why and how his own "Thankyou!" benefits the clerk.The continual repetition of "Thankyou!" constitutes a particularly goodautosuggestion. I say particularlygood because the subject does notrealize that he is actually treating himself when he says it! That, Coueteaches, is most important.To make the matter plainer, let ustake another example.Suppose that a mildly impatientman starts in saying "Damn it!" tentimes a day at petty annoyances. Continuing in this way his impatience willassuredly increase, until he ends bymaking mountains of trouble out ofevery molehill. Why? Because everytime he says "Damn it!" he in effect


and unconsciously declares, "That thingor person annoys me. I am easily annoyed." And he thus aggravates hisshortcoming instead of setting out toremove it. He is finally governed bythe idea "I am annoyed" where hecould just as easily have learned to begoverned by the opposite, constructiveidea, "I never get annoyed!""Thank you!" when constantlyrepeated exercises a very powerful influence for good. Yes, even if the clerksays it automatically. The reason isnot hard to find. Associated with"Thank you!" is an unconscious autosuggestion which may be representedby these words: "I am appreciative.I enjoy my contact with this customerand each new customer who comes todeal with me." The practical results,from the clerk's standpoint may easilyinclude a better general disposition,which in turn means better health, lessened fatigue and so brings increasedability to get through the day with less


wear and tear. Even when customersthemselves are irritable and fussy, theclerk will find himself calmer and better able to quiet them down—all byvirtue of the "Thank you!" attitudewhich in time becomes a part of hisown subconsciousness.The proprietor of one big departmentstore noticed that nearly all complaintsabout clerks gave the late afternoon asthe time of day when the unpleasantness occurred. Reasoning the matterout, he came to the conclusion that thiswas due to the fatigue which wasnatural as the day came to a close.Fatigue, of course, cuts down the general mental and moral tone. Thismerchant resolved to cut down thecomplaints. The method he devisedincluded autosuggestion.The clerks were instructed to leavetheir counters for a few minutes eachafternoon between three o'clock andthree-thirty. Definite shifts werearranged, so that the service would not


suffer. The clerk was told to wash hisface and hands and then say firmly tohimself, "I dare any one to get my goatbetween now and five o'clock!" As aresult of this simple practice, the complaints in that store have been almostentirely eliminated.It was only a plain business man whoworked this problem out. He had notheoretical training in psychology.But intuitively he formulated the bestpossible autosuggestion to meet thesituation. As we are trying here tolearn the art in the simplest and mostpractical way, it may be worth a fewparagraphs to analyze the statement alittle."I dare any one to get my goatbetween now and five o'clock!"In the first place we find no high-falutin' language. The statement ismade in colloquial, every-day words allof which were probably commonly usedby every clerk who repeated the sentence. In other words, the autosugges


tion sounded self-made, rather than atrick formulated by some "expert"whose interference might antagonizethe clerk. Coue shows that autosuggestion is most effective when made inthe patient's own natural language."/ dare any one" was a self-announced challenge to all comers, barnone. The hidden powers of theunconscious rush to help us in maintaining the strong positions which westrive to take. A challenge, in particular, enlists the support of the best thatis in us."/ dare anyone to get my goat" is afairly humorous way of putting a challenge. We saw in a previous chapterthat a laugh and good humor actuallyhave a relaxing effect on the body.This is particularly valuable in the casewe are examining. The end of the dayis near, and many clerks may be impatient and a bit irritable. The mentalstates induce physical tension, and thisvery tension further aggravates the irri


tability. We short circuit this viciouscircle by replacing the possible badhumor with good humor.". . . between now and fiveo'clock!" The autosuggestion closeswith a clear and definite thought, richin associated ideas. As the clerk says

it,

the words can hardly fail to suggestthe idea, "Why, that's not hard. It'salmost half-past three now—only anhour and a half before closing time."Reason agrees that the attempt willsucceed. No impossibility is presentedto even the least favored of the clerkswho make this declaration. Coueshow us that "sweet reasonableness" inautosuggestion must be observed.The traveling salesman who is struggling with impatience or irritability caneasily adapt this particular autosuggestion to his own needs.

• * •

Any one who has talked much withdifferent types of dealers about the


shortcomings of salesmen, knows thatfaults of disposition are the greatestbarriers which block the way to successin the case of many men on the road.The full list of these "sins of the disposition" would probably reach outover more pages than we can sparehere. I will put down only a few ofthem.'"Haughty selling. "You small-town(or one-horse) dealers ought to bethankful that a traveling man evercomes near you."— High-and-mighty selling. "I represent a big house. What they say,goes!"Grouchy selling "Oh, what the devilmakes you ask all those foolish questions?" (You may only think this, butsomehow it always makes itself showto the dealer.)Impatient selling. "I've got to catchthe train that leaves in half an hour,so come on and make it snappy!"Touchy selling. "I don't see why


you sent in that order by mail. Now Iwon't get credit for it. Why didn'tyou wait until I got around again?You knew that I'd show up within afew weeks."Smart-alec selling. "How the dickensdo you know how much of this stuffto order when you've never handled itbefore? Now you leave the size of thisorder to me." (Then he puts oneover.)Profane selling. Some salesmenthink that strong language is a sign ofstrong salesmanship. Last summer Istood in a public garage while a youngthug of a traveling salesman tried tosell the proprietor a new line of bumpers. Every third word or so was takenfrom the Bible. The dealer said to meafter he had gone, "Y'know, I swear toomuch myself, but I've never knownfirst-class goods to go with a sellingtalk like the one that fellow gave me.Cuss words are the surest way to scareme out of buying."


Sour salesmanship. Some salesmenconstantly go around bemoaning thefact that they are salesmen. Theyharp on the poor hotels in the territory,they belly-ache about the rotten trainservice, they gossip freely about theunappreciative dealers on whom theycall. How on earth they expect suchtalk to help them make their quotasno one knows, least of all the merchantswho have to listen to it.Disloyal selling. The salesman, ofcourse, has no right to disclose to onedealer the size of the order placed byhis competitor. Nor has he any rightto repeat information given by onedealer, which, when circulated, may dothat dealer harm. Yet such disloyaltyis not at all uncommon.

• * •

In correcting such flaws of the disposition the starting point for the salesman is to go over his thoughts with afine-tooth comb. He must be honest


with himself. He can often profitablyask some old acquaintance, or even afriendly dealer on whom he calls, to tellhim his shortcomings.Taking these up, one by one, heshould formulate an autosuggestioncovering each. The main points to becovered are: (1) this shortcoming isabout to disappear, (2) the disappearance will go on steadily, surely, and atan increasing rate, and (3) the possession of the correlative good qualityis now appearing and will increasinglyreplace the undesirable quality whichformerly had the upper hand.Now we will look again at a form ofsuggestion advocated by Coue as usefulto the practitioner when directly addressing the patient.In reading this, remember that youare both practitioner and subject. Itmay be that you will wish to convertthese suggestions into autosuggestions.You can do so by changing the word"you" to "I," and making any other


changes that may be necessary to coveryour particular problems.Coue writes, ". . . you will feelperfectly well, cheerful and active."". . . if you occasionally sufferfrom depression, if you are gloomy andprone to worry and look on the darkside of things, from now onwards youwill cease to do so, and, instead of worrying and being depressed and lookingon the dark side of things, you are goingto feel perfectly cheerful, possibly without any reason for it

,

just as you usedto feel depressed for no particular reason. I say further still, that even ifyou have real reason to be worried anddepressed you are not going to be so."If you are also subject to occasionalfits of impatience or ill-temper you willcease to have them: on the contrary youwill be always patient and master ofyourself, and the things which worried,annoyed, or irritated you, will henceforth leave you absolutely indifferentand perfectly calm.


"If you are sometimes attacked, pursued, haunted, by bad and unwholesome ideas, by apprehensions, fears,aversions, temptations, or grudgesagainst other people, all that will begradually lost sight of by your imagination, and will melt away and lose itselfas though in a distant cloud where itwill finally disappear completely. Asa dream vanishes when we wake, sowill all these vain images disappear."

VI

IMAGINATION INSTORE-KEEPING

"It is the training of the imagination which isnecessary, and it is thanks to this shade of difference that my method has succeeded whereothers—and those not the least considered —havefailed."—Emile Coue.

• * •

This chapter and the next are in asense an interlude. We are about tolook at Imagination or the successfuluse of Images in store-keeping and themanufacture of commodity.The clerk who hopes some day tobecome a merchant and the travelingsalesman who hopes to be a successfulexecutive or manufacturer should learnhow to use Imagination in the retailingof any commodity which he mayhandle.

89


The salesman on the road who hascultivated his Imagination will oftenbe able to help his dealers to sell moregoods and thus in turn buy more product from him.The reader who is already a merchant should learn more about the waysin which directed Imagination can increase his business.We will start by reminding ourselvesagain that the word "Imagination"starts out with the word "Image." Letus see how Images can help in ourefforts to dispose of more merchandiseto more and more customers.

» * *

In New York City is a certain restaurant. In the main it is quite like manyother restaurants. Prices are the same.The same foods are served. But asingle, simple difference makes this eating place quite dissimilar to others andaccounts in a large measure for theunusual success which this place enjoys.

Imagination in Storekeeping 91

Here is how Imagination has beenused. In most restaurants you aregiven a few conventional slices of conventional bread. In this restaurantyou are served with a variety of bread-stuffs—currant buns, buns with frosting on their tops, rolls sprinkled overwith caraway seeds, buns which areparted in the middle and buns whichare parted on one side.That gives you an Image or Picturewhich you do not find at the tables inother restaurants. It adds to the pleasure with which your Imaginationdwells upon the whole meal which isset before you.Old-time restaurants hung plain curtains in their windows and showed nodisplay of any kind. So long as therewas little difference in the appearanceof these places, there was little choiceto be exercised by the hungry one insearch of a place to eat. But restaurant men have learned that their windows are extremely valuable when


filled with Images or Pictures whichstir up in the Imagination of the beholder the autosuggestion, "I'm hungry. That certainly looks good. Guessit's time to eat now!"And so, the retaurants of today oftenput an appetizing Picture into theirwindows.In Child's we see a spick-and-spanyoung fellow making butter cakes,buckwheat cakes, cornmeal cakes, toast.In front of him we see red, lusciousapples, grape fruit ready to burst withjuice, and possibly a pumpkin whenpumpkin pie is in season. Behindthese Pictures we get still another Picture—that of a crowd of our fellowmen, satisfying their hunger.Many arm-chair lunches that formerly hung out a sign "Quick lunch"now display a briefer and far more suggestive sign which carries the singleword "Eat." The words "Quick Lunch"were not lacking in pictorial value, but"Eat" stirs Imagination to picture our


selves in the very act of taking inchicken pie, steaming coffee, apple piea la mode, and whatever else makes upour ideal of a good dinner.And the restaurant man who runsthose Rotisseries! He gets our Imagination going at a still livelier rate. Wesee the chickens, geese, pork, lamb, andbeef revolving on the spits before livecoals. The skin browns and crackles.The meat grows tender in front of ourown eyes. The fat melts and glistens.The delicious meat juice drips downinto a catch pan placed below and sendsup an ambrosial mist. And as wewatch, a sleek, well-nourished chefsharpens his knife, eyes the chicken orloin of pork appraisingly and with skilland dispatch slices off white meat andseparates the joints.Pictures! Images! Could any be better calculated to sell us food?The rotisserie man sometimes goeseven further. A grate with an outletcarries the fragrance of the broilinj


meats out onto the street where wecatch a whiff of it and are remindedagain that Imagination leads to action.This chapter is not, however, dedicated to the restaurant man. I havequoted some examples of his progressive Imagination here because they areworthy of study on the part of allretailers.

• » #

Coffee in bags or packages does notpresent an Image which greatly stirs theImagination. As with the rotisseriechicken, it is the rising fragrance whicharouses Imagination and makes us wishfor the reality. Coffee in the beangives off a great deal of this fragrance.And so a certain coffee merchant riggedup a blower arrangement which, likethat of the rotisserie, sent out the aromainside the store to stimulate the Imagination of the man on the street. Salesjumped!


Some of the electrical supply menhave learned that semi-mechanical apparatus makes but little appeal to theImagination of their customers who arewomen. For instance, a window display of electric toasters has little in itto stir up an autosuggestive picture.One dealer learned that it made all thedifference in the world to show a toasternicely set on a doilie, while beside itwas placed a plate on which were laidseveral slices of toast. It is an oldaxiom of advertising men that to getdown to real selling "You must Picturethe article in use." That is the way tostir the Imagination of the buyer to thepoint where he sees himself using andenjoying the product while his unconscious says, "Good. I want that. I'llhave it. I'm going to enjoy it. I'llget it now."The electrical supply man alsolearned that a lonesome vacuum cleanerstanding up in a window had practically no value as a sales maker. But


what a difference when a nice lookinggirl got into the window and ran thevery same vacuum cleaner over a dustycarpet!Likewise, the electrical supply manhas found that though an electric heatermay offer but little to the Imaginationwhen placed baldly in the window, thesame heater brings in real money whenhitched up to the juice and mountedout on a box in front of the store toproject its rays of warmth on the chillypasserby. That stirs Imagination—Pictures of vanishing goose-flesh—Pictures of emerging warm and comfortable from the bath tub—Pictures of awarm dressing room at six o'clock in themorning.In these examples there is a basicprinciple which deserves attention fromevery retailer, every retailer's clerk, andevery traveling salesman who knowsthat to help retailers is to help himself. Namely:A display of naked merchandise has


little appeal to the Imagination. Themerchandise must be accompanied byaccessories, or set in a Picture whichthe beholder connects with himself.For example: The furniture displayof the average furniture or departmentstore is arranged in long rows of chairs,closely grouped herds of tables, forestsof beds and bureaus, endless familygroups of overstuffed chairs. It is quitea job for our Imagination to seize thesecold and abstract Pictures and couplethem up with our own homes.Thinking progressively, that remarkable merchant, John Wanamaker, introduced a "house palatial" into his furniture department. Later on, heshowed completely furnished apartments and homes of more modest pretensions than the original "housepalatial."Pictures! Images!The editor of one of the largest magazines once remarked that we love toread our newspapers because when we


see an item about Mike Tobasco whounexpectedly inherited a million dollars, we unconsciously ponder overwhat we would do if a similar legacyunexpectedly dropped down upon us.So it has been with John Wana-maker's furniture department. Newlyengaged couples have gone to Picturethemselves living in the modestly furnished apartments. Newly-rich havelet their Imagination live in the "housepalatial" and the first thing they knewthe house itself came into their lives.More Pictures! More Images! Pictures in which the beholder can andwants to see himself! Get Imaginationgoing, says Coue, and you always getaction.The store windows give the averagedealer his best chance to present Pictures which have selling value.But see what sometimes occurs.Most luggage dealers stack a lot ofplain trunks and bags in their valuablewindows. Result: No Image to stir

Imagination in Storekeejring 99

the Imagination. It is simply a caseof transferring a part of the stock tothe window.An exceptional trunk dealer put areal lift into his sales by hiring a demonstrator, who dressed as a French maid,stood in the window all day long, packing and unpacking a wardrobe trunk.That was a Picture to "sell" you, wherea million plain trunks might have hadno relaxing effect on your purse strings.The average shoe dealer hasn't begunto learn the possibilities of Image making in his windows. Like the luggageman, he is apt to merely transfer a partof his stock to the windows and let itgo at that. An exceptional shoe manufacturer who sells through his own chainof stores, put a real Picture into thewindows. All day long a buzz-sawcalmly and briskly cut open perfectlygood shoes. This Picture we do notcouple directly with something that wemight do, but it gave a Picture of goodwearing qualities and honest materials


in a way which stock shoes on displaynever can.The small cigar manufacturer unconsciously has the right idea when hemakes his cigars in the front windowinstead of out in the back of the shop.At least his best Picture is where youcan easily see it.Who has seen a bank window thatappealed to the Imagination? And yetwhat a rich set of Pictures could beassociated with the intimate, humanmatter of saving and thrift. Some daywe shall see the rotisserie principle applied in some way to banks.

• • •

The display cards used in windowsare worth a few words. At present,many of these appeal very little to theImagination. We read "Banks Chocolates— 'Sweets for the Sweet' " or "Thisfine straw hat—$3.50" or "This latesttravel book—$4.00."

Imagination, ■At''^o^keepih^ '•'"

And we wish that these cards wouldmore generally appeal to Imaginationby presenting Images that are moredefinite. We wonder why Banks doesnot say "Tonight, after supper, opena box of these chocolates." We see abetter text for the hat man, "Come inand let our mirror show you how wellyou look in this straw hat." We eventhink we could help the book man with"Here's a chance to travel for twelvedays in China—$4.00."Wanted: More Pictures — moreImages.That is why so many big food manufacturers send hundreds of demonstrators out to stay with the local grocerymen of the country. The Picture ofthe inside of the average grocery storeis not stirring enough. The appeal tothe Imagination is blocked at the sightof huge stacks of crackers, whole barrels of sugar and dirty potatoes, pyramids of carrots with the soil still clinging to them. The Picture of the

'162 - Auloinpge stioh- and-Salesmanship

kitchen is entirely absent. The presence of foods as actually served at homeis rare.A demonstrator can eorrect all that.There she stands all freshly dressed inwhite, arms bare, apron on, stirring upthe ingredients in the bowl, or cuttingthe cake, or deep-frying the crullers.There is a Picture which any womancan identify with herself. And thebeholder's Imagination transfers thewhole Image into her own kitchen. Sheno longer is in a grocery store—she isat home! Then she simply must lether Imagination turn into reality. Tobuy is the first step toward reproducingthe Picture presented by the demonstrator.But some of us sell service, or articleswhich cannot be presented in the sameeasy, familiar way as electric toastersor grated coconut. There's the realestate man, for instance. Many realestate men have learned that imaginative Pictures are quite possible in their


business. Matching houses on thebasis of wood-work, lighting fixtures,and modernity of the plumbing mayonly put the possible purchaser in acold, analytical frame of mind. Awarm Picture is needed. And so thesalesman is learning to make the mostof the homely, simple little incidentals.An apple tree stands out in back ofthe house. The salesman Pictures thebeauty of the tree in spring as the blossoms come out, and the satisfaction ofgathering the crop itself in autumn.An asparagus bed presents a Pictureof luxury and the certainty of havingfresh vegetables even before the regulargarden is bringing forth its crops. Anattractive fireplace lends itself to aword Picture of cosiness and comfortfor crisp fall nights.

• • «

There is another, even greater sideto the practice of Imagination in store-keeping. It is the genius of seeing Pictures of new kinds of stores and new


combinations of ideas in retailing. Thisoften consists of combining two elements, each of which is common initself, but when brought together produce a brand new Image. The self-service grocery store is an example—acombination of groceries with the cafeteria form of service.David Oppenheim's Imaginationshowed him a Picture of children getting their hair cut while riding onhobby horses. As a result, his barbershops (Happy Land Barber Shops) aretoday found in dozens of large department stores in different parts of thecountry. Here, instead of the conventional barber's chair (to a child's eyesso horribly like the chair in the dentist'soffice) Mr. Oppenheim has providedlarge hobby horses with ample saddles.The child mounts. The barber snipsaway. The child's Imagination ridesout with King Arthur's knights insteadof taking him to a surgical operation.Woolworth's Imagination pictured

Imagmmtion in Storekeeping 105

the huge number of wants we havewhich can be satisfied by a nickel or adime. The Woolworth Building is amonument to the success of that idea.Sears-Roebuck saw the plight of thefarmer who could not enjoy the benefits of John Wanamaker's or MarshallField's. So Sears-Roebuck put a storelike John Wanamaker's into a book andmailed it to the ruralist.Always try to see old objects in newrelations. That's one way to stimulateImagination.Try also to look at things as thoughyou had never before seen them. Thisoften suggests new possibilities inarrangement of stock and new trims forthe windows.Put yourself in the customer's placeand try to see your store through hisImagination. You may decide to makesome changes in a hurry! Images first!Sales come from attractive Pictureswhich the customer can tie up withhimself—and wants to!

VII

IMAGINATION INMANUFACTURING

"It is no paradox to say that in our most theoretical moods we may be nearest to our mostpractical applications."—Prof. A. N. Whitehead.

• » •

In the preceding chapter it was suggested that old things should be lookedat as though they were new. Familiarobjects should be viewed as though forthe first time. In doing this we oftenfind our Imagination stimulated intoseeing new relationships and new markets for old products.A manufacturer of rubber goods waswatching children learning to swim.Some of the youngsters were buoyedup on inner tubes which, when inflated,supported them above the surface.

106

Imagination in Manufacturing 107

Imagination suggested to the manufacturer the idea of perfecting the ideaby making a rubber device which wouldfit better and be more compact thanthe makeshift inner tube. This is asimple example of how new productsare often invented.Klaxon horns were first offered tomotorists. Looking afresh at thiswarning device, it was seen that itmight also be of great service on motorboats and even in factories as a firesignal.When the market for motor trucksshowed a temporary sag, it was foundthat railroads could equip a heavy-dutymotor truck with flanged iron wheelsand in some cases use it for short-runpassenger service at less expense thanlocomotives and passenger cars.Henry Ford insisted that every Forddealer include the Fordson farm tractorin his stock and get out and sell it.This seemed like a real hardship toFord dealers in the big cities until it


was seen that this farm tractor mightbe equipped with solid rubber tires andused by contractors for hauling.A thermometer has been seen assomething more than a weather indicator. One of these temperaturerecording devices is now attached tocertain cook stoves to show the exacttemperature of the oven. An imaginative man realized that the thermometercould also be adapted to the safeguarding of the automobile engine. HisMotometer today warns millions ofmotorists when the water in the radiator is too hot.Turkish bath towels had a limitedmarket until Imagination showed someone that the same material would bewelcomed by many when made intowash rags and face towels.Office card indexes have a large market. But that market has been substantially increased by the Imaginationwhich said that women would be gladto use this same file in their kitchens


as a convenient tucking-away place fortheir recipes. A cook book is sometimes awkward to handle in the kitchen.A card withdrawn from a file is mucheasier to read from and will always layflat.

• • *

Suppose that the market for yourproduct were wiped out tonight.What would you do? Imagination maysuggest new uses and market possibilities which have not occurred to youbefore.Smith Brothers' Cough Drops startedout to relieve coughs. But these samecough drops are today bought by manyas a satisfactory confection which maybe had for a very nominal price.Bull Durham was first marketed asa pipe tobacco, but if that market wereentirely lost tomorrow there would stillbe an immense consumption of "Bull"among those who use it to roll theirown cigarettes.


Linoleum was originally a floor covering which had no aspirations to beseen anywhere but in the kitchen. Itis now making its way into the otherrooms as well, and the manufacturersare finding it worth while to spendhundreds of thousands of dollars toadvertise Linoleum for the bed roomsand even the living room!Underburned and overburned bricksused to be discarded. Then someImaginative person built a wall ofthem. The slight variation in the colors of the individual bricks proved veryattractive when they were broughttogether in this way. Today modernhome builders pay a premium for thesebricks, buying them in preference tothe evenly matched bricks which wereused in the little red schoolhouses ofour childhood.

* * •

Many manufacturers do not realizethat the Imagination of customers is


constantly discovering new uses fortheir product.The 3-in-l Oil people have foundthat their customers have discoveredmany uses for the lubricant which thecompany itself never thought of. Theseuses have been carefully collected andmade a feature of the manufacturer'sadvertising and booklets.One large advertiser uncovered scoresof new ways in which his cleanser mightbe used. He announced a Prize Contest. Prizes were offered to the womensending in the greatest number of usesto which the cleanser could be put.One woman went through a complete,unabridged dictionary and copied offthe name of every article there whichmight be cleaned with the advertiser'sproduct. It was she, it is said, whowon the First Prize.

• • •

Many commodities are bought byone sex only. Often directed Imagina


tion will show how to sell such merchandise to the other sex as well.Gillette Safety Razors are sold tomany women now that evening dressesdemand a smooth under-arm.For a time some young women woremen's socks.The man's type of golf suit is nowwith slight adaptations sold to women.

* • •

The manufacturer may be too quickto accept the idea that his product canbe sold in one season of the year only.But Imagination may even show theway to get around this bugaboo.B V D's are now worn the year roundby many customers who originally putthem on only when spring came.The production of cheaper enclosedautomobiles has been beneficial to boththe automobile manufacturer and hiscustomers. The car owner extends hisdriving season, securing comfort andprotection in winter. The manufac-

■


turer makes additional sales because theincrease in the owner's annual mileagebrings him sooner into the market foranother car.

• * *

Color alone is often a means of extending sales. A new color may makethe old Picture of the product brighterand thus far more appealing to the possible customer.An example of this is the new ParkerDuofold Fountain Pen. Most fountainpens have been black. This Parker penis a dull scarlet tipped at both ends ofthe barrel with black. Hand in handwith the color change was an enlargement of the pen throughout, but thecolor alone plays a large part in stirring the Imagination of the beholder tothe point where he wants to own onefor himself.Two candy manufacturers have toldme that chocolates seem to sell bestwhen wrapped in red. Chocolates


wrapped in green or blue packages aresaid to be slow moving. The managerof one of the chain drug stores had alot of chocolates wrapped in whitepackages. Sales were poor. Finallythe manager ordered each box wrappedin red paper. The brighter Image won—for the chocolates were then quicklydisposed of.A certain manufacturer marketed adessert which, when served, was white.As an experiment, a little harmlesscoloring was added to a batch and thelabel carried the additional words "RoseVanilla." Again the Picture presentedby the colored product whetted theImagination of the purchaser, and ina short time the pink dessert far outsold the white, although there was nota particle of difference between the twoin flavor, price, or size of the package.

» • •

Free sampling through advertising orby the door-to-door method is a prac


tical method of getting the Imagination of the consumer to dwell upon theattractions of the product in use.Even a small sample will serve to puta Picture into the user's mind whichserves to connect the product with hisown daily living.In some cases soap manufacturershave even given two full-size cakes tothe housewife. By the time she hasused both of them, her Image of herself as a regular buyer is often "set,"and she automatically pictures herselfas a "constant user."A decidedly clever adaptation of thesampling method is that used by Lyon& Healy to sell baby grand pianos.Manifestly it was impossible to "sample" the piano itself. One obstacle inselling these pianos was the impressionin the mind of the customer that evena baby grand piano was too large to fitcomfortably into his home.A paper floor pattern was devisedwhich gave exactly the over-all dimen


sions of the musical instrument. Thiswas advertised. The picture showedthe family laying the pattern on thefloor. In this way they could easily discover whether the piano would fit ornot.But far more important: When onceyou laid that pattern on the floor yourImagination could hardly fail to complete the picture and show you theactual baby grand standing there beforeyou. And you felt no real or lastingpeace until you made the Picture turninto a reality.

* • *

Some day, in addition to the otherVice Presidents, the progressive manufacturer may have a "Vice Presidentin charge of Image-making." Whynot?

VIII

CONSCIOUS AUTOSUGGESTIONAND HEALTH

"Believe me, we had better leave off all these(medical) remedies: Life is a fortress whichneither you nor I know anything about. Whythrow obstacles in the way of its defense? Itsown means are superior to all the apparatus ofyour laboratories. Corvisart candidly agreedwith me, that all your filthy medicines are goodfor nothing. Medicine is a collection of uncertain prescriptions, the results of which, taken collectively, are more fatal than useful to mankind."—Napoleon.

• • •

In this and the following chapter weare to see how conscious autosuggestion,as taught by Coue, can be used by thesalesman to maintain and regain health.All quotations here are from the book,"Self Mastery through Conscious Autosuggestion," by Emile Coue.

117


He writes, "Suggestion, or ratherAutosuggestion, is quite a new subject,and yet at the same time it is as old asthe world."It is new in the sense that until nowit has been wrongly studied and inconsequence wrongly understood; it isold because it dates from the appearance of man on the earth. In fact,autosuggestion is an instrument thatwe possess at birth, and in this instrument, or rather in this force, resides amarvelous and incalculable power,which, according to circumstances, produces the best or the worst results.Knowledge of this force is useful toeach one of us, but it is peculiarly indispensable to doctors, magistrates, lawyers, and to those engaged in the workof education."If space were permitted an almostendless mass of evidence could be produced to show that wrong autosuggestions which many of us nearly everyday permit in our thinking finally mani

Conscious Autosuggestion and Health 119

fest themselves in diseases and physicaldisorders of almost every description.There is an old oriental story whichruns something like this: A travelermet the Plague outside the gates ofBagdad. "What were you doing in thecity?" asked the traveler. "I killed athousand," replied the Plague, "butFear killed ten thousand more."In the widespread epidemic of influenza which occurred during the war, itwas noted that the disease and itsresulting mortality were far lower inNew York than in many other cities.The New York City health authoritiesattributed this result largely to the factthat they requested the newspapers tominimize the printing of news aboutthe epidemic. In many other cities thelocal newspapers were crowded withinfluenza items. This caused the mindsof the readers of those papers to dwellexcessively upon influenza, to moregreatly fear it

,

and to entertain a morelively expectation of actually getting


it. The evidence indicates that thisset up autosuggestion with the resultthat the trouble was far more prevalentthan it would have been if influenzanews had not been so widely disseminated.After the epidemic was over, nationalstatistics were gathered regarding themortality under varying forms of treatment. It is said on good authority thatthe mortality under non-medical treatment was far lower than where medicine was used.It is a fact that many medical students have to give up their studiessimply because they are so influencedby their reading of symptoms of various diseases that they reproduce thesesame diseases in their own bodiesthrough imagination and unconsciousautosuggestion.A man who for many years hadmanufactured and marketed patentmedicines, publicly stated several yearsago that a mild epidemic frequently


followed the appearance of his advertising in the newspapers. Many whoread these advertisements, through unconscious autosuggestion, reproducedthe symptoms described and thenbought the advertised nostrum to sendthem away!In war it has been noted that thewounds of the victorious soldiers healmore quickly than the wounds of thesoldiers on the defeated side. The onlypossible explanation is that the mindsof the victors are uplifted and happywhile the vanquished are depressed.Certain uncivilized peoples haveexecuted members of their own groupsby announcing, after gathering together, a date which they set for theunfortunate one's demise. The deathhas usually taken place on the day set,the victim having converted the suggestion of impending death into anautosuggestion which proved fatal.Cases are sometimes quoted wherefortune tellers have prophesied death


on a certain date to those who consultedthem, and the prophesy was fulfilled.It is time to realize that it was notability to foresee the future, but unconscious or even conscious autosuggestionwhich killed the victims in cases likethese.

* • •

Coue does not claim to be the originator of mental therapy. His desire hasbeen rather to simplify such healingto a point where any one can take holdof it and prove its effectiveness in hisown daily experience. He has no quarrel with either medicine or physicians.He simply says that there is usually abetter way, and that better results mayoften be obtained through consciousautosuggestion than through medicaltreatment.He says, "Every illness has twoaspects (unless it is exclusively a mental one). Indeed, on every physical


illness a mental one comes and attachesitself. If we give to the physical illness the coefficient 1, the mental illnessmay have the coefficient 1, 2, 10, 20, 50,100, and more. In many cases this candisappear instantaneously, and if itscoefficient is a very high one, 100 forinstance, while that of the physical ailment is 1, only this latter is left, a 101stof the total illness; such a thing iscalled a miracle, and yet there is nothing miraculous about it."Lest Napoleon's striking quotation atthe beginning of this chapter be misunderstood, this should be said. As aclass, no workers are more entitled torespect and admiration than the medical doctors. Their self-sacrifice, theirreadiness for call at any time of day ornight, sets them apart among those whoserve the public. Of the art of medicine, however, we need not be quite sorespectful. Admittedly, accurate diagnosis is often difficult, and several physicians may differ widely as regards


both the nature of the disease in a givenpatient and the prescriptions they givethe patient to cure it. Few remediescan be counted on to act upon differentpatients in the same manner. Manyphysicians deplore the patient's insistence on strong medicine. Some physicians honestly admit that they oftenprescribe colored water or neutral pillsfor disorders which seem real enoughto the patient, but are actually thefruits of wrongly directed imagination.Later the patient will report a marvelous recovery.

* • •

Coue says, "If there are scepticsamong* you—as I am quite sure thereare—all I have to say to them is:'Come to my house and see what isbeing done, and you will be convincedby fact.'"You must not, however, run awaywith the idea that autosuggestion can


only be brought about in the way Ihave described. It is possible to makesuggestions to people without theirknowledge and without any preparation. For instance, if a doctor who byhis title alone has a suggestive influenceon his patient, tells him that he can donothing for him, and that his diseaseis incurable, he provokes in the mind ofthe latter an autosuggestion which mayhave the most disastrous consequences;

if,

however, he tells him that his illness

is a serious one, it is true, but that withcare, time, and patience, he can becured, he sometimes and even oftenobtains results which will surprise him."We cannot all go in person to seeCoue at work, but from the book quotedwe can observe some of the cures whichhave taken place under his treatment.M. M , living at Sainte-Savine,paralyzed for two years as the resultof injuries at the junction of the spinalcolumn and the pelvis. The paralysiswas only in the lower limbs which were


swollen, congested, and discolored.Under Coue's treatment there was anoticeable improvement in eight days.Eleven months later the patient walked800 yards. In July, 1907, he went backto work. No relapse.Mile. M D, of Troyes. Suffered for eight years from asthma whichobliged her to sit up in bed nearly allnight, fighting for breath. Was quicklyresponsive to suggestion and in a shorttime the asthma disappeared completely. There has been no return ofthe trouble.M. A G, living at Troyes, longsuffered from enteritis (inflammationof the intestines). At the end of threemonths the cure was complete. Twelveyears have passed and there has beenno relapse.Mme. D. , at Troyes, was inthe last stages of consumption. In afew months the cure was complete.Ten years have passed with no relapse.M. X , at Luneville. Cerebral


disturbance which manifested itselfin uncontrollable nervous trembling.Cured in 1910. No relapse.M. E , of Troyes. Gout. Unable to walk. After the first treatmentthe cure was complete.Mme. H , at Maxeville. General eczema. Both legs inflamed.Walking difficult and painful. Treated.That same evening she walked severalhundred yards without fatigue. Theday after found the swelling gone—forgood. The eczema rapidly disappeared.Mme. P , at Laneuveville.Pains in kidney and knees for ten years.Constantly growing worse. Immediateimprovement. Rapid and permanentcure.Mme. Z , of Nancy. Fell ill inJanuary, 1910, with congestion of thelungs, from which she had not recoveredtwo months later. Suffered from general weakness, loss of appetite, baddigestive trouble, infrequent and difficult bowel action, insomnia, and copi


ous night sweats. Two days after treatment she declared herself quite well.A young girl with Potts disease,found that her vertebral column becamestraight again after three visits to M.Coue.Other cures—all of which haveproved permanent — include, hearttrouble, tubercular sores, abscess, varicose ulcer, chronic bronchitis, club feet,metritis, prolapse of the uterus, stammering, rheumatism.Coue writes, "What conclusion is tobe drawn from all this?"The conclusion is very simple andcan be expressed in a few words: Wepossess within us a force of incalculablepower, which, when we handle it unconsciously is often prejudicial to us. Ifon the contrary we direct it in a conscious and wise manner, it gives us themastery of ourselves and allows us notonly to escape and to aid others toescape, from physical and mental ills,but also to live in relative happiness,


whatever the conditions in which wemay find ourselves."

• * •

Probably no worker is more in needof constant good health than the salesman on the road. He faces unusualvariety in his meals, many of which arepoorly cooked. He must travel throughvarying climates, where his territory islarge. His sleeping quarters are oftenindifferent and noisy, to say nothing offrequent nights in a sleeper. Add tothese irregularities long hours, earlyrising, and traveling late at night.These things in themselves shouldnot prove much of a handicap. Andyet many salesmen unconsciously invitetrouble by permitting unfavorable autosuggestions to govern their thoughts.They declare themselves upset by apiece of pie, or a change in drinkingwater, or changes in temperature, or


other conditions incidental to theirvocation.Deprived of normal home life andrecreation, they are tempted to overeat,oversmoke, and form loose living habitsin general. To such, Coue promisesnothing—save that if they truly wantto live according to reasonable standards of health, conscious autosuggestionwill tame down excessive appetites andestablish better habits. Then healthwill follow as a matter of course.Little ills on the road can be curedreadily and quickly by the use of autosuggestions specifically covering them.Serious ills can be in a large measureforstalled by the regular use of thegeneral autosuggestion statement whichCoue recommends for use before going■to sleep and in the morning uponawakening.The body, as Napoleon indicated,possesses means for its defence whichconstitute what we might fairly call "aconspiracy for health."


The moment you cut your hand, redcorpuscles rush to form a clot and stopfhe flow of blood. When the skin isbroken or burned, the body quicklybegins to manufacture new. The samecurative work goes on in every case ofsickness where adverse autosuggestiondoes not take place.Sometimes grave problems for thebody have been met by the unconsciouswithout our even having been aware ofit. For example, in one of the largehospitals, a post-mortem examinationwas made of scores of patients who haddied from causes other than tuberculosis. And yet in over half of theseexaminations, indications were foundthat tuberculosis had existed in thelungs in mild form at some time orother, but had been cured by Natureworking through the hidden powers ofresistance which lie within the bodyitself.Coue shows us how to work on theside of this natural recuperative force—


how to help it when hard pressed, howto conserve its power by rejecting expectations of physical trouble whenthey suggest themselves to us withoutany foundation upon which they mayrest.

IX

"DAY BY DAY

"And I will show that whatever happens toanybody it may be timed to beautiful results."

—Walt Whitman.

• • •

There is always danger in attemptingto express in different words the teachings of so individualistic a personalityas Emile Coue. It is indeed a questionwhether another should attempt to takesuch a liberty. And so the writer ofthis book now seeks to retire as anauthor or teacher and attempt merelyto exercise whatever editorial abilitieshe may have in selecting and arrangingpassages from Coue's teachings whichwill present in the most compact formthe use of autosuggestion for maintaining and regaining health.

133


First, we muBt be clear regarding theconscious and unconscious self. Coue*writes, "In order to understand properly the phenomena of suggestion, orto speak more correctly of autosuggestion, it is necessary to know that twoabsolutely distinct selves exist withinus. Both are intelligent, but while oneis conscious the other is unconscious.For this reason the existence of the latter generally escapes notice. It is, however, easy to prove its existence if onemerely takes the trouble to examinecertain phenomena and to reflect a fewmoments upon them. Let us take, forinstance, the following examples:"Every one has heard of somnambulism; every one knows that a somnambulist gets up at night without waking,leaves his room after either dressinghimself or not, goes downstairs, walksalong corridors, and after having executed certain acts or accomplished certain work, returns to his room, goes tobed again, and shows next day the

"Day by Day "135

greatest astonishment at finding workfinished which he had left unfinishedthe day before."It is, however, he himself who hasdone it without being aware of it.What force has his body obeyed if it is

not an unconscious force, in fact hisunconscious self?"Let us now examine the, alas, toofrequent case of a drunkard attackedby delirium tremens. As though seizedwith madness he picks up the nearestweapon, knife, hammer, or hatchet, asthe case may be, and strikes furiouslythose who are unlucky enough to be inhis vicinity. Once the attack is over,he recovers his senses and contemplateswith horror the scene of carnage aroundhim, without realizing that he himself

is the author of it. Here again is it notthe unconscious self which has causedthe unhappy man to act in this way?"If we compare the conscious withthe unconscious self we see that theconscious self is often possessed of a


very unreliable memory while the unconscious self on the contrary is provided with a marvelous and inpeccablememory which registers without ourknowledge the smallest events, theleast important acts of our existence.Further, it is credulous and acceptswith unreasoning docility what it istold. Thus, as it is the unconsciousthat is responsible for the functioningof all our organs by the intermediary ofthe brain, a result is produced whichmay seem rather paradoxical to you:that is

, if it believes that a certainorgan functions well or ill or that wefeel such and such an impression, theorgan in question does indeed functionwell or ill, or we do feel that impression."Not only does the unconscious selfpreside over the functions of our organism, but also over all our actions whatever they are. It is this that we callimagination, and it is this which, contrary to accepted opinion, always makes

"Day by Day "137

us act even, and above all, against ourwill when there is antagonism betweenthese two forces."

WILL AND IMAGINATION

Coue then goes on to show us whyimagination always wins when in conflict with will."Suppose that we place on theground a plank 30 feet feet long by 1foot wide. It is evident that everybody will be capable of going from oneend to the other of this plank withoutstepping over the edge. But nowchange the conditions of the experiment, and imagine this plank placedat the height of the towers of acathedral. Who then will be capableof advancing even a few feet along thisnarrow path? Could you hear mespeak? Probably not. Before you hadtaken two steps you would begin totremble, and in spite of every effort of


your will you would be certain to fallto the ground."Why is it then that you would notfall if the plank is on the ground, andwhy should you fall if it is raised to aheight above the ground? Simply because in the first case you imagine thatit is easy to go to the end of this plank,while in the second case you imaginethat you cannot do so."Notice that your will is powerless tomake you advance; if you imagine thatyou cannot, it is absolutely impossiblefor you to do so. If tilers and carpenters are able to accomplish this feat,it is because they think they can do it."Vertigo is entirely caused by thepicture we make in our minds that weare going to fall. This picture transforms itself immediately into fact inspite of all the efforts of our will, andthe more violent these efforts are, thequicker is the opposite to the desiredresult brought about."

"Day by Day "139

SUGGESTION AND AUTOSUGGESTION

Still quoting from Coue: "Now thatwe have learned to realize the enormous

power of the unconscious or imaginative being, I am going to show howthis self, hitherto considered indomitable, can be as easily controlled as atorrent or an unbroken horse. But before going any further it is necessaryto define carefully two words that areoften used without being properly un-destood. These are the words suggestion and autosuggestion."What then is suggestion? It maybe defined as 'the act of imposing anidea on the brain of another.' Doesthis action really exist? Properlyspeaking, no. Suggestion does not indeed exist by itself. It does not andcan not exist except on the sine quanon condition of transforming itselfinto autosuggestion in the subject.This latter word may be defined as 'the


implanting of an idea in oneself by oneself.'"You may make a suggestion tosomeone; if the unconscious of the latter does not accept the suggestion, ifit has not, as it were, digested it

,

inorder to transform it into autosuggestion, it produces no result. I have myself occasionally made a more or lesscommonplace suggestion to ordinarilyvery obedient subjects quite unsuccessfully. The reason is that the unconscious of the subject refused to accept

it and did not transform it into autosuggestion.

THE USE OF AUTOSUGGESTION

Writing on the basic platform of histreatment, Coue says, "Whereas weconstantly give ourselves unconsciousautosuggestions, all we have to do is

to give ourselves conscious ones, andthe process consists in this: first,to weigh carefully in one's mind the

"Day by Day "141

things which are to be the object of theautosuggestion, and according as theyrequire the answer 'yes' or 'no,' to repeat several times without thinking ofanything else: 'This thing is coming,' or'this thing is going away'; 'this thingwill, or will not happen, etc., etc.,. . If the unconscious accepts thissuggestion and transforms it into anautosuggestion, the thing or things arerealized in every particular."Thus understood, autosuggestion isnothing but hypnotism as I see it, and

I would define it in these simple words:The influence o

f the imagination uponthe moral and physical being o

f mankind. Now this influence is undeniable, and without returning to previousexamples, I will quote a few others."If you persuade yourself that youcan do a certain thing, provided thisthing be possible, you will do it however difficult it may be. If on the contrary you imagine that you cannot dothe simplest thing in the world, ■ it is


impossible for you to do it,

and molehills become for you unscalable mountains."Such is the case of neurasthenics,who, believing themselves incapable ofthe least effort, often find it impossibleeven to walk a few steps without beingexhausted. And these same neurasthenics sink more deeply into their depression, the more efforts they make tothrow it off, like the poor wretch in thequicksands who sinks in all the deeperthe more he tries to struggle out."In the same way it is sufficient tothink a pain is going, to feel it indeeddisappear little by little, and inversely,

it is enough to think that one suffersin order to feel the pain begin to comeimmediately."I know certain people who predictin advance that they will have a sickheadache on a certain day, in certaincircumstances, and on that day, in thegiven circumstances, sure enough, theyfeel it. They brought their illness on

"Day by Day "143

themselves, just as others cure theirs byconscious autosuggestion."I know that one generally passes formad in the eyes of the world if onedares to put forward ideas which it isnot accustomed to bear. Well at therisk of being thought so, I say that ifcertain people are ill mentally andphysically, it is that they imaginethemselves to be ill mentally or physically. If certain others are paralyticwithout having any lesion to accountfor it

, it is that they imagine themselves to be paralyzed, and it is amongsuch persons that the most extraordinary cures are produced. If othersagain are happy or unhappy, it is thatthey imagine themselves to be so, for

it. is possible for two people in exactly

the same circumstances to be, the one,perfectly happy, the other absolutelywretched."But if our unconscious is the sourceof many of our ills, it can also bringabout the cure of our physical and


mental ailments. It can not only repair the ill it has done, but cure realillness, so strong is its action upon ourorganism."Shut yourself up alone in a room,seat yourself in an armchair, close youreyes to avoid any distraction, and concentrate your mind for a few momentson thinking: 'Such and such a thing isgoing to disappear,' or 'Such and sucha thing is coming to pass.' ■

"If you have really made the autosuggestion, that is to say, if your unconscious has assimilated the idea thatyou have presented it

,

you are astonished to see the thing that you havethought come to pass. (Note that it is

the property of ideas autosuggested toexist within us unrecognized, and weonly know of their existence by theeffect they produce.) But above all,and this is an essential point, the WILLMUST NOT BE BROUGHT INTOPLAY IN PRACTISIING AUTOSUGGESTION; for, it is not in agree

"Day by Day " 145

ment with the imagination, if onethinks: 'I will make such and such athing happen/ and the imaginationsays: 'You are willing it

,

but it is notgoing to be,' not only does one notobtain what one wants, but even exactly the reverse is brought about.""After what has just been said it

would seem that nobody ought to beill. That is quite true. Every illness,whatever it may be, can yield to autosuggestion, daring and unlikely as mystatement may seem; I do not say doesalways yield, but can yield, which is adifferent thing."

SPECIFIC TREATMENT

Dangerous or mistaken autosuggestions which we have allowed to comeinto our thinking, Coue likens to nailsdriven into a plank. The plank is thebody. The problem is to get the undesirable nails out. In conscious autosuggestion, we place another nail over


the top of the one which we wish toreplace. We now hammer on the newnail. The old one is driven down andout a little with every stroke of thehammer. Finally the undesirable nailis forced completely through and dropsoff, leaving the new nail in its place.The use of autosuggestion specifically directed toward replacing a certain ill with a healthful condition isbriefly covered by Coue in these words:"Every time in the course of the dayor night that you feel any distress,physical or mental, immediately affirmto yourself that you will not consciously contribute to it

,

and that youare going to make it disappear; thenisolate yourself as much as possible,shut your eyes, and passing your handover your forehead, if it is somethingmental, or over the part which is painful, if it is something physical, repeatextremely quickly, moving your lips,the words: 'It is going, it is goingetc., etc., as long as it may be necessary.

"Day by Day "147

With a little practice the physical ormental distress will have vanished in 20to 25 seconds. Begin again whenever itis necessary. Avoid carefully any effortin practising autosuggestion."

GENERAL TREATMENT

Late in 1916, a woman of 43 came toCoue" for treatment. All her life shehad suffered from violent headaches.After a few visits the pains vanished.Two months later she discovered thatshe was also cured of a prolapse of theuterus which she had not mentioned toCoue, and of which she was not thinking when she used the general autosuggestion for which Coue has becomefamous.This unexpected result, says Coue,was due to the words, "in every way"contained in the formula, "Day by day,in every way I am getting better andbetter."The use of this sentence braces up


the entire tone of the unconscious inits work of maintaining health and normality in every organ and in everyJunction of the body. That is why itis so important.You may have suffered from mistaken diagnosis and not actually knowwhat is wrong. But the unconsciousseems to know exactly where the difficulty lies, what it is

,

and what to doabout it. Why shouldn't it?— it already presides over the organs andfunctions of the body.And so, when consciously directed,

it quickly responds to general instructions to do whatever is necessary tomaintain health in its entirety.Coue's instructions on this point are,"Every morning before getting up andevery evening as soon ac you are inbed, shut your eyes, and repeat twentytimes in succession, moving your lips(this is indispensable), and countingmechanically on a long string withtwenty knots, the following phrase:

"Day by Day "140

'Day by day, in every way I am gettingbetter and better.' Do not think ofanything in particular, as the words 'inevery way' apply to everything."Make this autosuggestion with confidence, with faith, with the certaintyof obtaining what you want. Thegreater the conviction, the greater andthe more rapid will be the results obtained."

CONCLUSION

Coue begs of us to understand thatthe work which he is doing is no unearthly or supernatural manifestation.The powers which he has are commonto all. They rest on natural laws. Heis trying to teach people to help themselves, rather than to lean on himself'or his pupils.In applying his methods we will dowell to remember these paragraphs ofhis: "Whoever starts off in life withthe idea: 'I shall succeed,' always does


succeed because he does what is necessary to bring about this result. If onlyone opportunity presents itself to him,and if this opportunity has, as it were,only one hair on its head, he seizes itby that one hair. Further, he oftenbrings about, unconsciously or not, propitious circumstances."He who on the contrary alwaysdoubts himself, never succeeds in doinganything.

tHe might find himself in

the midst of an army of opportunitieswith heads of hair like Absalom, andyet he would not see them and couldnot seize a single one, even if he hadonly to stretch out his hand in orderto do so. And if he brings about circumstances, they are generally unfavorable ones. Do not then blame fate, youhave only yourself to blame."

A New Book by CoueJust Issued

HOW TO PRACTICESUGGESTION ANDAUTOSUGGESTION

With Preface byCHARLES BAUDOUIN

Author of "Suggestion and Autosuggestion.*5

This book gives specific practical details of Coue'smethods just as applied in effecting some of hiswonderful cures.It is a complete report of a clinic conducted by Conue at Nancy—in four parts.Interview by Cou6 of each patient.Examples and experiments illustrating the powers of Suggestionand Autosuggestion.Suggestion (a) general (b) special for each ailment.Advice to patients.Also contains a complete ad verbatim report of all parts of Coup'slecture as delivered in many cities in the United States during hislecture tour here.

Cloth. 128 pages $1.25. (By mall, $1.35)

Coue's First BookSELF MASTERY Throughconscious AUTOSUGGESTIONis Being Read by Thousands Daily

This book is the only one in America written and authorized forpublished by Emile Cou6 himself. It contains a complete expositionof his theories, methods and amazing cures, with practical suggestions :for personal application and self cure simply and clearly explained.

Leather, Gold Stamped,$1.00, Postpaid Illustrated, $1.75

AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICEPUBLISHERS

500 Fifth Avenue New York City

Just Published!

A Remarkable Book on Autosuggestion

This book is written primarily fromthe practical standpoint and contains

in simple language the methods bywhich one can obtain health, happiness,success and self-control through theapplication of autosuggestion, withspecific formulae for the self-cure ofinsomnia, nervousness, indecision, etc.

SELF HEALINGTHROUGH

AUTOSUGGESTIONQ

JXBL- CHARIES p.WINBIGLEIt PH.M.Jluthar of 'Suggestion, Its lawAndApplication

CONTENTSPREFACE CHAPTER T. Suggestion and Autnuno-INTRODUCTION tion Applied to Advene Con-CHAFTER I. Suggestion Defined and Classi- ditions.

CHAPTER VI. Personal Methods ProvenCHAPTER II. Autosuggestion Defined and _ Effective.

IUustrated— Many Phases Con- CHAPTER VH. Some Formulae for Typicalsidered. . „. C^sa.

CHAPTER HI. Conditions Necessary for Effec- 0). For Insomnia.live Autosuggestion. (*). For Constipation.UY Relaxation. (»), *<* Sick-Headache,

Attention. , , Nervous Pains,etc,

(c).' Brevity and Definiteness. (*), For Nervousness, Impa-

\d). Repetition. „. Uence.Anser and Passion.(«). The Best Time to Give («), For Subconsciousness,Autosuggestion. Basbfulness and Indeo

CHAPTER IV. Suggestion and Autosuggestion . "on.AppBed. CHAPTER Vni. Summary and Conclusion.

Price $1.25 (By Mail $1.35)130 pages, jacket, gold-stamped, clothAt all Bookstores or direct from

AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE500 Fifth Avenue New York City

®

The Remarkable Story of The First American Woman To BeTreated and Cured by Coue at Nancy.

MY PILGRIMAGETO COUEBy ELLA BOYCE KIRKPatient and Pupil of Emile Coue

THISbook is one of absorbing interest, giving, as it does, an

intimate, close-up account of the actual workings of Coue'swonderful methods. Mrs. Kirk relates graphically the details ofher experience and makes the reader feel the kindly personality ofEmile Coue. After reading "Self Mastery Through Conscious'Autosuggestion," make your conception of Coue's methods complete by reading Mrs. Kirk's book.

MRS. KIRK'S STATEMENT•TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN iFor seventeen years I have been taking everyform of treatment for stiffening and contractionof the muscles of the lower limbs. Nevertheless,I suffered intense pain and was rapidly becomingunable to walk. Having read of M. Coue, I decided as a last resort to go to him at Nancy. Ihad hope but no faith, but after the first treatmentI felt much better. Since the second treatment therehas been no recurrence of the pain or stiffness. Theimprovement is increasing, and I now walk withease.

(Signed) Mrs. Ella Boyce Kirk."Hotel Seymour,

November 10, 1922. N. Y. City.

This book can be obtained at any book atore or direct from publisher*.

Bound in Cloth. Price $\ ,2SAMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE, Publishers500-S Fifth Avenue New York City

Mil. EU* Boyce Kirk

The Most Complete Book Eoer WrittenCovering the Subject of Autosuggestion.

SUGGESTIONIt* Law and Application or the Principlesand Practise of Psychotherapeutics

By

Dr. CHARLES F. WINBIGLER, Ph. M.'"TrUS book cover* every phase of the great Law of Suggestion1 and its application to the problems of our daily life—physical,mental and spiritual. An invaluable booh for students and arevelation to the general reader.THE NAUTILUS MAGAZINE says: "It is a veritable gamut on t>e

subject. It covers the whole field of suggestion."PROF. E. B. WARMAN says: "It la the best book on Suggestion,

published."DR. J. W. BROUGHER says: "It is the most complete and the best

work on the subject."

A Brief Synopsis of Subjects Covered:Definition of suggestion. —On children and adults.Relation to conscious and sub con- —In moral perverseness.scious mind. —To counteract bad Influences.Relation to hypnotism. Autosuggestion.Relation to dreams, telepathy, ate —Treatment of one who is con-Condition of operator. _ . scious.Condition of subject. Value of suggestion.Physiology of suggestion. Application of suggestion or Psycho-Psychology of suggestion. therapeutics.Philosophy of suggestion. Psychical diseases.The subconscious mind. The cause of disease.How to use suggestion. The basis of ail cure.Hypnotically. The cure of habits.—In sickness or health. The relief of pain.

Bound in Cloth, 472 Pages. $2.50.Other Books by Dr. Winbigler

How to Heal and Help How to Help and Heal Christian Science andOth~a One's Self Kindred j^jMTh*

A handbook and A book of counsel Explains the teach-manual for individuals »»"» instructions for de- fags of this method ofto use in presenting veloptag the physical, healing clearly and. 71 t. , ii mental and spiritual life full v. Truth and fella-scientific, psychological b phy,iofc£ical „d ™/- '^c^Uy pre.and optimistic methods penological prin- iented. AloglSj anS-to help the discouraged, ciples. Gives specific ysia and discussion inhopeless, nervous or methods, exercises, a candid, reasonablesick. treatments, etc and definite manner.Price 91.00 Price $1.25 Price $1.00These Book* can be obtained from all Bookstore* or from

AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE, Publishers500-S Fifth Avenue New York City

Best BOORS

A Guide to the World'sBest Literature

Tells You WHAT andHOW to Read

With Concise Commentariesand a Brilliant Essay on

BOOKS AND READINGBy

JOHN COWPER POWYSCrittc. Novelist. Pott and Lecturer

' I 'HE reader who want* to be benefited as well as entertainedJ. will appreciate the value of having the keen judgment ofMr. Powys as a guide.He is direct, vigorous and illuminating in showing how ha

separates the wheat from the chaff.To insure greater benefit and greater enjoyment from all your

reading, keep at hand "One Hundred Best Books."

Mr. POWYS as a CriticREVIEW OF REVIEWS, NEW YORK:"Seventeen essays .... remarkable forthe omission of all that is tedious and cumbersome in literary appreciations, such aspedantry, muckraking and theorizing."

Mr. POWYS as a NovelistCHICAGO TRIBUNE: "Psychologicallyepeaking, it is one of the most remarkablepieces of fiction ever written. ... 1 do nothesitate to state that a new novelist ofpower has appeared upon the scene."

*fr. POWYS as a PoetNEW YORK EVENING POST SAYS: "Asregards what Mr. Powys modestly calls his'rhymes,' we hesitate to say how many yearsit is necessary to go back in order to findtheir equals in sheer poetic originality."

At All Bookstore* or Direct from PubluhertPrice $125

Other Books by POWYS:RODMOOR. A Romance $2.00COMPLEX VISION. Philosophy 3.00WOOD and STONE. A Novel. 2.00

These Books can be obtained from Bookstores or direct from

AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE, Publishers500-S Fifth Avenue New York City

CONFESSIONS OF TWOBROTHERS. By John C.and Llewelyn Powys 2.00

EBONY AND IVORYLLEWELYN POWYS

Preface by Theodore Dreiser

Stories and sketches of Africa and England,some of which have appeared in The Dial, TheFreeman, The New Age, The New Statesman,Smart Set, etc."They are so serious, so pathetic, so in the main—sombreand so beautiful—they present a temperament, an emotion,a taste, a judgment and an understanding, altogether artisticand distinguished." —Theodore Dreiser.

Cloth, Gold Stamped $2.00 (By Mail $2. 10)

THE SHADOW-EATERBy

BENJAMIN DE CASSERESPreface by Don Marquis Illustrated by Wallace Smith

Psychologic Caricature by M. de ZayasA book of free verse—satanic, nihilistic, cosmic

The Shadow-Eater is one of my favorite books.—James Branch Cabell.De Casseres suggests a Titan in an inkstand.—Edgar Saltus.I may say that your style has something of the brilliant, crackling,fulminating quality of Carlyle—a Carlyle who has read Nietzsche.

—James Huneker.Price $2.00 (By Mail, $2.10)

Limited edition, 150 copies on hand made paper.Signed by the author, $5.00

PARODIES ONWALT WHITMAN

Compiled byHENRY S. SAUNDERS

Preface by

CHRISTOPHER MORLEYJacket in Color* byCARLO FORNARO

Among the Parodists are: Chesterton, Unter-meyer, Morley, Quiller-Couch, Owen Seaman,Punch, Zangwill and others.Cloth. Large Octavo $2.25 (By Mail, $2.35)

These books obtainable at all Booksellers or fromAMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE

joo Fifth Ave. PublishersNew Yofk Qty

PABODIES onWALT

WHITMAN

CONFESSIONS OFTWO BROTHERS

By John Co ..per Powys and Llewelyn PowysA decidedly unusual book of compelling interest. John CowperPowys dissects his own strange psychology with almost savage sincerity,making a self analysis, in the light of which we see reflected our ownweaknesses.Llewelyn Powys records his intense impressions of life, from scenesin odd corners of the world. Shorn of all pretense, the stark vividnessof his pictures is startling.

Cloth $2.00 (By Mail, $2.10)

RODMOORA Romance

In this novel, Mr. Powys, while unhesitatingly using to his purposethose new fields of psychological interest opened up for us by theRussian writers, reverts, in the general style and content of his story»to that more idealistic, more simple mood, which we associate withsuch great romanticists as Emily Bronte and Victor Hugo.

Cloth $2.00 (By Mail, $2.10)

COMPLEX VISIONA complete statement of a system of philosophy which fills a gapin human thought. It is based on actual experience including all theseinstincts, intuitions, illuminations, obsessions usually disparaged underthe name of "superstition"—a philosophy midway between materialismand spiritualism. 370 pages.

Cloth $3.00 (By Mail, $3.10)

WOOD AND STONEA Romance

In this startling and original romance, the author turns aside fromthe track of his contemporaries and reverts tomodels drawn from raceswhich have bolder and less conventional views of literature than theAnglo-Saxon race. Following the lead of the great Russian Dostoievsky,he proceeds boldly to lay bare the secret passions, the unacknowledgedmotives and impulses which lurk below the placidseeming surfaceof ordinary human nature.

Cloth $2.00 (By Mail, $2.10)

At Booksellers or fromAMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICES

Publishers600 Fifth Ave. New York City

I

AUTOSUGGESTION AND SALESMANSHIP - IAPSOP€¦ · autosuggestionand salesmanship or imaginationinbusiness by franklincolnscott prefaceby orisonswettmarden newyork americanlibraryservice

Documents