A man's ideal determines all the rest,
for it is an active agent in his life
and produces specific results, digging deep into his being
and cleansing and organizing all the disparate elements
into a harmonious whole.
Every aspect of a person's life is arranged, fashioned, modelled and formed
int accordance with his idea.
Choose one central idea and focus all your energies on it.
Everything you do must contribute
to strengthening and sustaining this idea.
The first thing to do is to muster
all your strength, all your desires, all your passing whims even,
and put them to work to achieve a single idea.
Whatever you do, whether it be
working, eating or drinking, walking or talking, reading or writing,
everything must be aimed at the fulfillment of this one idea.
Nothing must be allowed to deflect you
from your purpose or weaken your resolve.
Examine the situation carefully
and, if you see that such and such an activity of interest
deflects you from your ideal,
abandon it.
You must learn to live with your ideal as though it were a reality,
without forgetting that you are living on earth.
It is very important to unite these two aspects of your life:
to be totally committed to your divine ideal
without losing sight of earthly reality.
Someone who is truly directed by a high ideal is never discouraged.
The mere presence within him of the high ideal
that feeds and guides him makes him happy.
