Some years ago I gave a lecture to a group of businessmen
on the powers of imagination and the subconscious mind. In
this lecture I pointed out how Goethe used his imagination
wisely when confronted with difficulties and predicaments.
His biographers point out that he was accustomed to fill
many hours quietly holding imaginary conversations. It is well
known that his custom was to imagine one of his fr…nds before
him in a chair answering him in the right way. In other words,
if he were concerned over any problems, he imagined his friend
giving him the right or appropriate answer, accompanied with
the usual gestures and tonal qualities of the voice, and he made
the entire imaginary scene as real and as vivid as possible.
One of the men present at ibis lecture was a young
stockbroker. He proceeded to adopt the technique of Goethe.
He began to have mental, imaginary conversations with a
multimillionaire banker friend of his who used to congratulate him on his wise and sound judgment, and compliment him
on his purchase of the right stocks. He used to dramatize this
imaginary conversation until he had psychologically fixed it as
a form of belief in his mind,
This broker’s inner talking and controlled imagination
certainly agreed with his aim which was to make sound
investments for his clients. His main purpose in life was to
make money for his clients and to see them prosper financially
by his wise counsel. He is still using his subconscious mind
à his business, and he is a brilliant success in his field of
endeavor.